State Legislation

The Chamber supports implementing the steps established in the 2015 Colorado Water Plan, a plan designed to address Colorado’s future water needs and measure its progress. This bill implements one of the actions recommended in the plan and addresses a reuse strategy.

This bill puts unnecessary restrictions on public-private partnerships (P3s), creating a burdensome and economically unattractive environment to anyone looking partner with or invest in Colorado.

This bill will provide analysis on the feasibility of integrating advanced technologies into government operations, further diversifying and advancing our state’s aerospace industry
while improving public safety.

The Chamber maintains a firm position that local fracking bans are unconstitutional. We support this bill because it recognizes the private property rights of mineral owners and compensates owners for the financial loss if they are precluded from accessing resources that belong to them.

The Chamber recognizes that the need for transportation infrastructure funding is a statewide issue and must be addressed in a way that provides solutions for all of Colorado. This bill removes funding from CDOT by reducing HOV lane collections; it also focuses solely on one area, designating that any additional funding CDOT receives must be allocated to this one project. This is not a collaborative solution. Finally, this bill attempts to legislate CDOT, requiring them to focus resources on a particular project rather than allowing them to best determine where the greatest need lies.

This is a process that is already addressed by many authorities and doesn’t need to be legislated. Urban renewal and tax-increment financing are important tools for revitalizing, reenergizing and redeveloping communities and creating economic development; this bill may stifle development in the areas that need it most.

Although we support finding a long-term solution to addressing the needs of our roads and bridges, this bill isn’t meaningful unless we pair it with significant revenue.

The Chamber is supportive of this pilot program, as prescribed in the Colorado Water Plan, as it provides an alternative method for farmers to monetize their water rights rather than simply selling them.

This program promotes energy efficiency and reduces energy costs of businesses and individuals. The bill does not preclude a utility from exceeding the program targets and thereby helping business and residential customers achieve higher energy savings.

The Chamber is supportive of a diverse energy economy and this bill encourages investment in innovation, infrastructure and these alternative energy technologies.

The Chamber supports implementing the steps established in the 2015 Colorado Water Plan, a plan designed to address Colorado’s future water needs and measure its progress. This bill implements one of the actions recommended in the plan and encourages people to participate in water conservation programs.

This bill offers a long-term statewide solution to addressing the needs of transportation infrastructure by pairing it with sustainable funding. Without significant investment in our state’s infrastructure, our economy and ability to attract workers will suffer. This bill aligns with the Chamber’s transportation principles.

Colorado has the most stringent oil and gas regulations in the country, which are regarded as best practices nationally and internationally. This legislation undermines the legitimacy of the 2015 Colorado oil and gas task force, which produced a number of comprehensive recommendations from a diverse group of stakeholders.

This bill helps ensure homeowners are informed and able to resolve issues without having to resort to costly and time-intensive litigation. Although we realize that House Bill 1279 alone will not solve all of Colorado’s housing problems, we hope it will help spur the development of attainable housing options for our millennials, seniors, public servants and other Coloradans struggling to buy a home.

The Chamber supports implementing the steps established in the 2015 Colorado Water Plan, a plan designed to address Colorado’s future water needs and measure its progress. This bill implements one of the actions recommended in the plan.

The Chamber remains a strong believer in protecting private property rights; however, this bill and its sponsors attempt to address a very complex issue very late in the session and without engaging all stakeholders in the process. Therefore, it fails to achieve a balanced solution. Additionally, this proposal doesn’t consider the innovations in technology that, coupled with the current set of stringent rules for oil and gas development, allows for minimal impact to the environment.

This bill removes funding from CDOT by reducing HOV lane collections and will exacerbate the already critical transportation infrastructure funding crisis the state is experiencing.

Expanding uses for reclaimed water is a critical part of the state water plan approved in 2015. We know that using reclaimed water safely in this manner will free up other sources of fresh water for more appropriate uses. We are committed to maximizing the water we receive on the Front Range instead of asking for more.

Expanding uses for reclaimed water is a critical part of the state water plan approved in 2015. We know that using reclaimed water safely in this manner, will free up other sources of fresh water for more appropriate uses. We are committed to maximizing the water we receive on the Front Range instead of asking for more.

We are committed to maximizing the water we receive for the Front Range; expanding uses for reclaimed domestic wastewater is a critical part of the state water plan approved in 2015. The use of reclaimed water that has been treated according to water quality standards, protects public health and safety, maximizes our resources and will free up other sources of fresh water for more appropriate uses.

Colorado is recognized as a national and international model of responsible oil and gas development. This bill would allow the Commission to tackle larger environmental projects that take more than one year’s worth of funds to address, which is essential to maintaining that balance between responsible development and enforcement of environmental safeguards.

This bill duplicates current reporting required by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for oil and gas operations in Colorado. Colorado is recognized as a national and international model of responsible oil and gas development with the most stringent oil and gas regulations in the country.

Technology is vital to the future of transportation and connected mobility in Colorado. This bill will enable solutions that improve roadway reliability, efficiency and safety, providing the state with a more easily accessible, technologically advanced and seamlessly integrated mobility system.

Energy storage systems can reduce costs, support the increased use of diverse energy sources and increase the safety and reliability of our grid, all of which makes Colorado more a competitive state for economic development. Although this bill is a step to move energy storage forward, the Chamber’s support of this bill is contingent upon an amendment that would allow this initiative to start as a pilot program to limit unintended consequences and allow for necessary fixes prior to full scale.

This bill imposes a mandate on business and doesn’t consider the innovations in technology and user-friendly mobile applications already in use today by mobile device users to limit distracted driving.

We support responsible energy development, and strong public health, safety and environmental safeguards. However, this bill is unnecessary, the marketplace on its own is moving in the direction of lower greenhouse gas emissions without the need for a mandate. The requirements in this bill are arbitrary and unsupported by any research; and the bill lacks a clear plan in place for how to achieve the reductions it calls for.

This bill fails to consider the innovations in technology that, coupled with the state’s administered set of stringent rules for responsible oil and gas development, allow for minimal impact to the environment.

While the Chamber does not oppose the notion of net neutrality, we believe it is a matter of federal jurisdiction. This bill, in its current form, is overly burdensome regulation that expands the current Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulatory powers and allows the state to issue preferential contracts thereby creating an unfair playing field for Colorado internet service providers.

We have underfunded transportation for decades, and it’s costing us $6.8 billion each year because of traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and lost gas efficiency. The Chamber is supportive of proposals in the long bill and its satellite bills that aim to provide ongoing investments in our transportation system.

Colorado is recognized as a national and international model of responsible oil and gas development. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which is charged with regulating oil and gas development, has already set forth stringent regulations that place strong emphasis on public health and safety and set distance requirements on oil and gas production activities from high-occupancy facilities. This bill expands on those regulations arbitrarily and would significantly restrict oil and gas development in Colorado.

Allowing utilities to work with local governments to create more personalized service agreements adds more flexibility into the grid, while protecting and keeping costs stable for ratepayers. This added flexibility could also help attract businesses to Colorado by ensuring their energy needs can be met.

This bill encourages local workforce housing in rural Colorado, which supports the growth of our state’s economy by providing diverse housing options for our workers throughout Colorado communities.

We have underfunded transportation for decades, and it’s costing us $7.1 billion each year because of traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and lost gas efficiency – and those costs will only continue to increase if we don’t fund transportation appropriately. This bill will further reduce funding for transportation and encourage single occupant driving by exempting certain vehicles from paying toll lane fees regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle. This will only exacerbate the underfunding and congestion problems we face rather than helping to fix them.

This proposal addresses one of the primary causes of accidents and congestion on the I-70 mountain corridor, especially during peak periods in winter conditions. Traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and the related lost gas efficiency add to the $7.1 billion Colorado citizens pay each year in transportation related costs – and those costs will only continue to increase. This proposal can reduce accidents and congestion on the I-70 mountain corridor and assist in mitigating the increase in transportation cost along the I-70 corridor.

Since the original bill was signed into law in January 2015, the state has seen the impact of the low-income housing tax credit. This program has leveraged over $465 million in private sector investment into Colorado and has helped support the development and preservation of over 4,000 affordable apartments. The Chamber will continue to support solutions that incentivize the building of attainable housing for our workforce so that Colorado remains an attractive place to do business and live.

This is a commonsense approach that will allow Colorado housing manufacturers to be more competitive in the national market.

The Chamber is supportive of efforts to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. However, this bill sets standards that are unattainable for most smaller utility providers with limited resources; it lacks clear direction on how to achieve the standards; and it delegates all authority to the Colorado Air Quality Commission, an appointed regulatory body with no experience in this type of regulation and one that does not allow for appropriate citizen engagement in their rule-setting processes. For Colorado to get this right, there must be a more thoughtful, deliberate process involving all stakeholders.

The Chamber is supportive of efforts to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. This bill creates a sound regulatory pathway for large utility providers to achieve aggressive carbon emission reduction goals while ensuring system reliability and comprehensive transition planning for employees -- without mandating a one-size-fits-all plan for smaller utility providers with more limited resources do the same.

This bill creates another incentive and, importantly, a market-driven solution to help grow the affordable housing stock in Colorado. With this tool, developers can partner with the state and local communities to build more affordable housing by removing regulatory burdens, which have made it more difficult to secure financing for projects. The Chamber will continue to support solutions that incentivize the building of attainable housing for our workforce so that Colorado remains an attractive place to do business and live.

This bill requires taxpayers to pay for an expensive study of a concept that we do not support. The concept allows communities to choose an outside utility to provide services but use the existing utility’s infrastructure without paying to support that infrastructure. It raises costs for those who remain on the existing system – businesses and consumers alike – and does nothing to decrease carbon emissions or improve the environment.

The Chamber maintains a firm position that local fracking bans are unconstitutional. This bill recognizes the private property rights of mineral owners and compensates owners for the financial loss if they are precluded from accessing resources that belong to them.

While we fully support broadband access for our rural and unserved communities, this bill creates a more subjective process that potentially politicizes how broadband grants are awarded and risks that fewer unserved areas receive access.

This bill assumes outcomes and directs the AQCC to set emissions standards stricter than those of the EPA for the four air toxics outlined in the bill rather than relying on long-standing, evidence-based and scientifically valid means for establishing regulations. The Chamber supports the thoughtful, evidence-based approach we take with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment today.

We have underfunded transportation for decades, and it’s costing us $7.1 billion each year because of traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and lost gas efficiency – and those costs will only continue to increase if we don’t fund transportation appropriately. This bill will further reduce funding for transportation and encourage single occupant driving by exempting certain vehicles from paying toll lane fees regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle. This will exacerbate the underfunding and congestion problems we face rather than helping to fix them.

While the Chamber recognizes that the intent of this bill is to expand broadband capabilities to rural Colorado, repealing these government restrictions would not achieve that goal. Instead, it would have a detrimental effect on local communities and allow for discriminatory practices and unfair competition in the telecommunications industry.

This bill would impose significant uncertainty around energy storage applications, utilization and connectivity, particularly as it relates to connecting with the utility power grid. The unknown increased costs would be passed on to all consumers, including commercial customers, regardless of whether they are utilizing this technology.

This bill addresses the three most critical components of construction defect litigation reform that will make a meaningful difference in increasing for-sale workforce housing while maintaining strong consumer protections. The Chamber has been working on these reforms with a broad coalition focused on energizing the construction of for sale condominiums throughout Colorado.

While this bill contains some meaningful changes to current law regarding construction defect litigation, the Chamber is concerned that, as written, it supersedes local municipality efforts to incorporate ADR as an option to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation. The Chamber supports a process that allows for a quick resolution of construction issues while providing sufficient consumer protections to all owners in a community.

This bill would remove incentives to invest in alternative fuel vehicles, something the Chamber has been supportive of in past years. Although we support finding a long-term solution to addressing the funding needs of our roads and bridges, this bill doesn’t provide a significant source of revenue.

The Chamber sees the strong value of urban renewal projects as a tool for revitalizing, reenergizing and redeveloping our communities and for economic development. We support these necessary technical fixes to streamline the process and to help local governments and the development community achieve greater certainty when investing in these projects.

Although we support finding a long-term solution to addressing the needs of our roads and bridges, this bill isn’t meaningful unless we pair it with significant revenue. In order to fund this bill, the state would be forced to forego needed maintenance on existing roads, bridges and tunnels. Furthermore, this bill focuses only on highways and fails to include local governments to address mass transit and other mobility needs across the state.

We have underfunded transportation for decades, and it’s costing us $6.8 billion each year because of traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and lost gas efficiency. The Chamber is supportive of proposals that will provide ongoing investments in our transportation system. Without significant investment in our state’s infrastructure, our economy and ability to attract workers will suffer.

Advancements in technology have made significant impacts on everything, from the way we access health care to the way we utilize education. These changes make it critical for rural and underserved communities throughout Colorado to have access to broadband.

Since the original bill was signed into law in January 2015, the state has seen tremendous success with the low-income housing tax credit. This bill would extend the program’s life and further provide families and individuals with opportunities for affordable housing in the state of Colorado. This is a great example of a successful public private partnership in Colorado

Residents of Colorado receive compensation when they distribute energy back to the grid. Without the ability to measure the amount of energy redistributed, the utility cannot adequately compensate a customer for his or her energy. Furthermore, without the ability to monitor the levels of energy returned to the grid, safety is at risk, as the extra energy could result in voltage issues that can cause power surges and grid blackouts.

Expanding uses for reclaimed water is a critical part of the state water plan approved in 2015. We know that using reclaimed water safely in this manner will free up other sources of fresh water for more appropriate uses. We are committed to maximizing the water we receive on the Front Range instead of asking for more.

Colorado has a distinct way of doing business that involves working together, respecting proven processes, compromising and finding common ground. As a state that is recognized as a national and international model of responsible oil and gas development, with strong regulations on all oil and gas production activities, including enforcement of environmental safeguards and protection against waste, a patchwork of local regulations doesn’t make sense. Allowing regulation to vary from each municipality would create unnecessary complication and add an increased administrative burden that would negatively impact the industry and our economy.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has already set forth stringent regulations on oil and gas that benefit the environment and enhance public safety. SB18-063 increases the financial assurance required by the commission to prohibitively high levels. This would lead to the failure of many small operators and even cause the largest of operators to deter investment into Colorado which, in the end, has negative impacts to our state’s overall economy and jobs.

Colorado is already very aggressive in the transition toward an “all of the above” approach when it comes to the usage of renewable energy sources. The marketplace on its own, is moving in the direction toward complete use of renewable energy without the need for a mandate.

The creation of this commission streamlines the call process to conduct excavation projects in Colorado, bringing important enforcement procedures up-to-date, increasing clarity and public safety.

The Chamber supported the original FASTER legislation signed into law in 2009 (SB09-108), which generates about $200 million every year from registration fees and fines for critical state transportation projects across Colorado. Terminating the use of FASTER fee revenue for transit would eliminate funding available to improve roadway safety, repair bridges and support and expand transit across Colorado. If passed, this bill would be harmful to communities that rely on FASTER funds to complete multimodal projects that reduce traffic and congestion on our roads.

The Chamber is supportive of a diverse energy economy. This bill encourages investment in innovation, infrastructure and alternative fuel and energy technologies.

Colorado is recognized as a national and international model of responsible oil and gas development. By proactively updating this statute and providing more protections for non-consenting mineral rights owners, this bill allows the pooling process to be facilitated more fairly for all parties involved.

We have underfunded transportation for decades, and it’s costing us $7.1 billion each year because of traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and lost gas efficiency – and those costs will only continue to increase if this issue goes unaddressed. The Chamber is supportive of proposals that will provide ongoing investments in our transportation system. Without significant investment in our state’s infrastructure, our economy and ability to attract workers will suffer.

This bill jeopardizes CDOT’s ability to utilize public-private partnerships (P3s) by increasing costs of using such innovative funding options at a time when transportation is greatly underfunded in Colorado. We support P3s as a funding strategy to complete much-needed infrastructure projects across our state and therefore oppose legislation aimed at curbing their use.

Colorado is recognized as a national and international model of responsible oil and gas development. The Chamber has long supported developing oil and gas regulations in a collaborative manner that includes multiple stakeholders. This legislation was drafted without a robust stakeholder process and does not take into account differing sides on this issue or modern research and technology. The Chamber affirms its commitment to work on energy regulations and urges our legislative leaders to consider additional stakeholder input that would take this from one-sided legislation to sound public policy for Colorado.

The Chamber is appreciative of the approach to incorporate apprentices into existing projects – an opportunity to continue education and training while fulfilling talent needs of our businesses. However, this bill goes beyond adding opportunities for apprentices. The additional provisions in this bill would increase costs for infrastructure projects upwards of 10 percent, will make it harder for small and minority-owned businesses to compete and could jeopardize safety by prolonging construction and repairs as contractors go through this process.

Rent stabilization policies do not accomplish what they set out to achieve. Rent controls worsen housing shortages, cause existing buildings to deteriorate and disproportionately benefit higher-income households.

In 2006, the Chamber convened leaders from public and private sectors, via an initiative called Mobility Choice, to develop key strategies to plan for the future of transportation in the metro Denver area, leveraging both current assets and new technologies. This bill conducts a similar study that’s statewide, complementing and expanding this type of work. The mobility agencies should collaborate, in partnership with community, nonprofit and private sector leaders, to carefully consider a range of effective and efficient solutions to the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging mobility technologies.

Tiered rate structures incentivize conservation, enable greater utilization of renewables and lower the bills of efficient users and low-income consumers. This bill would increase rates for many users and remove this important tool that can help incentivize behavior that helps utilities achieve policy goals.

We have underfunded transportation for decades, and it’s costing us $7.1 billion each year because of traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and lost gas efficiency – and those costs will only continue to increase if this issue goes unaddressed. The Chamber is supportive of proposals that will provide ongoing investments in our transportation system. Without significant investment in our state’s infrastructure, our economy and ability to attract workers will suffer.

The Chamber is supportive of proposals that will provide ongoing investments in our transportation system. By delaying this referral measure, CDOT will be able to issue a Certificate of Participation (COP), which will give them an additional $500 million in funding now, rather than having to wait for funding through bonding. Without significant investment in our state’s infrastructure, our economy and ability to attract workers will suffer.

The Chamber is supportive of efforts to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. This bill creates a pathway for investor-owned utilities to test emerging energy technologies which, if successful, would allow them to achieve aggressive carbon emission reduction goals.

We have underfunded transportation for decades, and it’s costing us $7.1 billion each year because of traffic congestion delays, damage to vehicles, accidents and lost gas efficiency – and those costs will only continue to increase if this issue goes unaddressed. Because transportation system is primarily funded through gas tax, it cannot account for electric motor vehicles and their impact. While we prefer a system where usage is tied directly to fees, we recognize that there are challenges in doing so at this time and support efforts to ensure all drivers are contributing to maintaining the roads they use.

This bill undermines the progress the Chamber helped make on construction defects reform by increasing the likelihood of litigation, driving up building costs and making for-sale housing, a critical component in our housing market, more expensive.

This program essentially taxes water customers twice, once for the water services they already receive through water rates and a second time to fund the enterprise. Furthermore, the enterprise makes water customers pay for projects in other communities from which they see little to no benefit themselves.

While the Chamber is actively engaged in finding solutions to incentivize the building of attainable housing for our workforce, we oppose this bill because it would have a negative effect. An increase in real estate transfer taxes would result in higher real estate costs. When examining public funding to support building affordable housing, we believe every stakeholder ought to contribute toward the solution and no individual or group alone should bear the burden of solving this. Additionally, this proposal will add yet another formula to our state’s constitution, an issue that the Chamber adamantly opposes because of its inherent potential to create budgeting and funding problems in the future.

Gas tax is a diminishing source of transportation funding because cars are becoming increasingly fuel efficient. The Chamber, along with a broad coalition of partners from across the state, identified sales tax as an appropriate method for funding the maintenance of our roads. This resolution would remove a diminishing revenue source and replace it with a stable one, also allowing tourists to pay a share in maintaining our transportation infrastructure.