2017 Infrastructure Bills

We focus on infrastructure as one of our pillars for a strong economy because connections—from buses and broadband to water and energy—are the backbone of a successful region. In fact, Interstate 70 and energy are critical issues that we’re focusing on as a Chamber.

Have a question about a position we’ve taken? Call us at 303-620-8088 or email us at publicpolicy@denverchamber.org.

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Bill # Title Summary Position Justification Materials Pillars Status
HB 22-1018 Electric And Gas Utility Customer Protections

This bill has three sections. Section 1 of the bill changes the date on which Energy Outreach Colorado disburses to the Department of Human Services a portion of the energy assistance system benefit charges that investor-owned electric and gas utilities collect from Jan. 1, 2022, to March 1, 2023. Section 2 requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to adopt rules prohibiting electric and gas utilities from disconnecting a customer's service and alters requirements on requests for reconnection of service. Section 3 establishes three income standards for determining a household’s eligibility for federal utility assistance and clarifies that the PUC may approve a year-round utility preference or advantage given to income-eligible customers.

The Colorado business community acts in good faith to protect consumers while also growing our competitive economy. This bill, though it increases timelines and complexity for business, is a good compromise between the rights of business and consumers. For this reason, the Chamber remains neutral on this bill.

HB 22-1026 Alternative Transportation Options Tax Credit

This bill would offer employers an income tax credit when they provide alternative transportation options for their employees. The refundable tax credit would replace an existing income tax deduction and cover 50% of an employers’ expenses for providing alternative transportation options. It would be available for the tax years covering Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2033.

This approach incentivizes and aids employers in providing alternative transportation options for their employees. We support incentives that help employers provide these types of benefits to their employees, which also help reduce congestion on our roadways and improve our state’s air quality and environment.

HB 22-1051 Mod Affordable Housing Tax Credit

This bill extends the affordable housing tax credit for another 10 years after it’s set to expire in 2024, and it increases the allocation from $10 million annually to $15 million annually from 2023 to 2034.

The Chamber recognizes that the lack of affordable workforce housing slows Colorado’s economic growth, undermines our ability to attract and retain talent, and poses a significant challenge to employees across the state. The affordable housing tax credit is a proven, effective and efficient solution to this problem, and we support the expansion and continuation of this program. We acknowledge, however, that the affordable housing crisis in Colorado is a multifaceted issue and will need a symmetrical response.

HB17-1008 Graywater Regulation Exemption For Scientific Research

This bill allows for an exemption from the water quality control commission’s regulations related to graywater for scientific research.

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.

HB17-1068 Prevailing Wages for Colorado Department of Transportation Public-Private Initiatives

This bill requires that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) may only consider proposals for a public-private initiative that pay no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits set by the U.S. Department of Labor as directed by the federal Davis-Bacon Act.

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.

HB17-1070 Infrastructure Bill

This bill requires the Center of Excellence to conduct a study and implement a pilot program on integrating unmanned aircraft systems within state and local government operations that relate to public safety.

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.

HB17-1124 Local Government Liable Fracking Ban Oil and Gas Moratorium

The bill makes any local government that bans or imposes a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing of an oil and gas well liable to the affected mineral interest owners, oil and gas operators, mineral lessees and royalty owners.

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.

HB17-1153 Highway Congestion Mitigation

This bill prevents the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) from increasing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane requirements from two passengers currently to three passengers, counting the driver. This bill also requires that any funding CDOT receives that is not already allocated to another project must be allocated to the expansion projects for portions of Interstate 25 between the town of Castle Rock and Monument and between State Highways 14 and 66.

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.

HB17-1161 TIF Tax Increment Financing Transparency

This bill increases reporting and auditing restrictions on urban renewal authorities using an approved urban renewal plan. It also holds the authority liable if it’s deemed to have been used inappropriately.

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.

HB17-1171 Authorize New Transportation Revenue Anticipation Notes

This bill requires that the Transportation Commission submit a ballot question in November 2017 asking voters to approve $3.5 billion in bonds for transportation funding.

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.

HB17-1219 Extend Colorado Water Conservation Board Fallowing and Leasing Pilot Program

This bill extends and expands the current Colorado water conservation board pilot program on temporarily leasing fallowed agricultural land by allowing for five additional pilot projects, including one additional pilot project in any one of the four major river basins, and extending the program by an additional five years.

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.

HB17-1227 Electric Demand-side Management Program Extension

This bill extends a 2007 program requiring the PUC to reduce peak demand by at least 5 percent and demonstrate energy savings of at least 5 percent using 2018 energy sales numbers as a baseline for the period from 2019 through 2028.

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.

HB17-1232 Public Utilities Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicles

This bill enables public utilities to recover the costs of implementing electric motor vehicle or natural gas fueling stations. It also allows public utilities to consider transportation electrification and natural gas vehicle programs to support greater adoption of these technologies.

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

HB17-1233 Protect Water Historical Consumptive Use Analysis

This bill applies a water use exemption for participants of government-sponsored water conservation programs statewide.

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.

HB17-1242 New Transportation Infrastructure Funding Revenue

This bill refers a ballot question to voters in November 2017 asking for approval of a .62 percent sales and use tax increase to fund transportation infrastructure and mobility. The funding would generate approximately $700 million in its first full year, allocating $300 million to CDOT and, of the remaining new revenue, 70 percent to counties and municipalities so they can address unique local needs and 30 percent to create a multimodal transportation fund. The tax increase would sunset automatically in 20 years.

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.

HB17-1256 Oil and Gas Facilities Distance from School Property

This bill increases the current setback rules for oil and gas drilling from 1,000 feet from a school or other high occupancy building to 1,000 feet from the property line of that building.

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.

HB17-1279 Construction Defect Actions Notice Vote Approval/

This bill would enact an informed consent process and require that a majority of homeowners vote to proceed with a construction defect claim before a lawsuit is filed.

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.

HB17-1289 State Engineer Rules Historical Consumptive Use

This bill requires that the state engineer develop rules to allow for a quicker, more streamlined process for calculating historical consumptive use of a water right when selling or leasing. However, it doesn’t eliminate the option for the seller to go through water court if they so choose.

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.

HB17-1336 Additional Protections Forced Pooling Order

The bill requires a majority of royalty interest owners to agree to apply for an order to pool oil and gas resources within a given drilling unit as opposed to any one interested party. The process includes giving notice to all interest owners, holding a hearing and holding a vote.

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.

HB17-1348 Prohibit HOV High-Occupancy Vehicle 3 Requirement North I-25 Express Lanes

This bill would require any public private partnership agreement for the Interstate 25 north project to say that high--occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes must be free of charge for any motor vehicle that is occupied by two or more individuals, counting the driver.

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.

HB18-1053 Reclaimed Water Use for Marijuana Cultivation

This bill allows reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for marijuana cultivation.

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.

HB18-1069 Reclaimed Water Use for Toilet Flushing

This bill allows reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for toilet flushing.

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.

HB18-1093 Reclaimed Water Use for Edible Crops

This bill allows treated reclaimed domestic wastewater that meets state and federal food safety standards to be used for food crop irrigation.

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.

HB18-1098 Roll Over Year-end Balance Environmental Response Account

This bill permits the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to roll over environmental response account funds that are not used in one year to the next year, allowing them to tackle larger environmental projects that take more than one year’s worth of funds to address.

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.

HB18-1157 Increase Reporting Oil and Gas Incidents

This bill requires additional reporting for oil and gas operators for certain major and minor reportable events.

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.

HB18-1188 Electronic Data Transportation Infrastructure

Current law requires a state or local agency to get a search warrant before obtaining location information from an electronic device. The bill authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to use highway infrastructure technology to communicate with motor vehicles using vehicle location information to facilitate transportation or manage traffic.

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.

HB18-1270 Public Utilities Commission Evaluation of Energy Storage Systems

This bill directs the Public Utilities Commission to consider whether to establish a process for electric utilities to buy energy storage systems, with the ultimate goal to decide if those systems are a valuable addition to Colorado’s overall grid system based on an analysis of costs and benefits.

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.

HB18-1272 Network-level Distracted Driving Control Technology

This bill requires mobile service providers to add distraction-control technology to their service platforms.

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.

HB18-1274 Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050

This bill requires that statewide greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by at least 80 percent of 2005 levels by the year 2050.

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.

HB18-1289 Exempt Local Government School Districts Forced Pooling

This bill exempts local governments and school districts that own mineral rights from automatic inclusion in the pooling of oil and gas resources when the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approves an order to pool and develop those resources.

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.

HB18-1312 Open Internet Customer Protections in Colorado

This bill would disqualify internet service providers from receiving high-cost support mechanism funds or other money to finance broadband development if the provider engages in practices that interfere with the open internet.

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.

HB18-1322 Long Appropriation Act

The Long Appropriation Act (“Long Bill”) appropriates Colorado’s state budget and funding. While the Long Bill spans a variety of interests, the Chamber’s position is focused on the current transportation proposal that allocates funding to transportation infrastructure.

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.

HB18-1352 Oil and Gas Facilities Distance from School Property

This bill increases the current setback rules for oil and gas drilling from 1,000 feet from a school or other high-occupancy building to 1,000 feet from the property line of that building.

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.

HB18-1428 Authorize Utility Community Collaboration Contract

This bill allows investor-owned utilities to enter into agreements with local governments, subject to approval of the public utilities commission, to provide utility service that meets the energy goals of that local government, separate from state offerings, as long as the agreement does not require utility customers outside the local government boundaries to subsidize the costs of those agreements.

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.

HB19-1075 Tax Credit Employer-assisted Housing Pilot Program

This bill creates an income tax credit pilot program to promote employer-assisted housing projects in rural areas.

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.

HB19-1199 Colorado Clean Pass Act

This bill will allow certain owners of eligible plug-in electronic motor vehicles to pay a onetime per year access fee at the time of registering their vehicle that will allow them to access tolled express lanes and high occupancy vehicle lanes for free or at a reduced cost and without the required number of passengers.

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.

HB19-1207 Winter Conditions And Traction Control Requirements

Currently a person is required to use certain traction control equipment, such as chains or snow-rated tires, when the Colorado Department of Transportation restricts road use due to a winter storm. The bill broadens this law to require the traction equipment to be carried on I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison during icy or snow-packed conditions, before CDOT issues winter storm restrictions. It also updates the law to allow for current technology and traction options.

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.

HB19-1228 Increase Tax Credit Allocation Affordable Housing

This bill increases the allocation for the affordable housing tax credit from $5 million annually to $10 million annually for the years 2020 to 2024.

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.

HB19-1238 Clarification Of Manufactured Housing Standards

This bill will require manufactured housing built in Colorado to meet the standards of the state it will be used in, rather than the standards of Colorado.

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

HB19-1261 Climate Action Plan To Reduce Pollution

This bill requires the statewide emission of greenhouse gas targets to be reduced by at least 25 percent by 2025; at least 50 percent by 2030; and at least 90 percent by 2050 – compared to 2005 levels. This impacts all stationary and mobile sources and excludes agriculture. It directs the governor-appointed Colorado Air Quality Commission, (CAQC), to develop policies and promulgate rules for how to achieve those reductions most effectively, or across the board, with input from the Public Utilities Commission on targets for electricity providers.

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.

HB19-1313 Electric Utility Plans To Further Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions

This bill establishes new clean energy targets for utilities serving more than 500,000 customers. By 2030, the targets seek to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels. By 2050, the targets seek to reduce carbon emissions by 100 percent from 2005 levels. Other electric utilities may opt in to these standards.

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.

HB19-1319 Incentives Developers Facilitate Affordable Housing

Under current law, an affordable housing project that received a state property tax exemption may be required to pay property taxes that otherwise would have been owed from the date the exemption was granted if it begins to make a profit or is transferred. This bill specifies that the state could only collect property taxes owed from the date the exemption is terminated.

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.

HB20-1064 Public Utilities Commission Study of Community Choice Energy

This bill would study community choice energy, also known as community choice aggregation, which would allow communities to choose their wholesale electricity suppliers and be able to purchase energy outside of the local utility while still utilizing the infrastructure and delivery of that utility.

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.

HB20-1070 Local Government Liable Fracking Ban Oil and Gas Moratorium

This bill specifies that local governments that ban fracking are liable to the mineral owner for the value of the mineral and shall compensate oil and gas operators, mineral lessees and royalty owners for all costs, damages and losses associated with any moratorium placed on oil and gas activities.

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.

HB20-1137 Broadband Grant Certification of Unserved Area Requirement

This bill will allow a local government to certify that an area is unserved for the purposes of receiving grants from the Broadband Fund. To overturn a local certification, a supermajority (10 out of the 15 members) of the broadband deployment board must vote and determine otherwise.

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.

HB20-1265 Increase Public Protection Air Toxics Emissions

The bill creates a new program to regulate hazardous air pollutants specified by the air quality control commission (AQCC), including hydrogen cyanide, fluoride, sulfide and benzene. The AQCC would set health-based emission limits for covered air toxins if not already covered by state or federal regulation, require covered facilities to monitor their emissions of covered air toxins, and create a real-time community alert system for incidents that occur at a covered facility. The bill directs the AQCC to set standards that are stricter than the federal clean air act.

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.

HB20-1325 Low-emission Vehicle Managed Lane Access

This bill allows low-emission vehicles access to toll lanes for free or at a reduced cost regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle.

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.

HB21-1028 Annual Public Report Affordable Housing

This bill requires the Colorado Division of Housing to prepare a public report that gives detail on the total money that the division or the Colorado State Housing Board received from any federal, state, public or private sources during the prior fiscal year. It would also report what the division or board granted or loaned from state funding to promote providing affordable housing.

With the high cost of housing in Colorado, we understand and appreciate the need for affordable housing. This bill would give legislators and constituents information on an annual basis to ensure taxpayer dollars address affordable housing in a meaningful way and anticipate future needs and priorities.

HB21-1167 Private Construction Contract Payments

This bill caps the amount a property owner can withhold from a contractor and a contractor can withhold from a subcontractor or supplier for unsatisfactory work at 5%. This cap applies only to contracts of at least $150,000 in the private sector.

Contractors withhold money for contracts to ensure customers receive the quality of work that was promised and 10% is a long-standing industry standard that we don’t believe should be changed through statute.

HB21-1208 Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise

This bill creates a new state enterprise that would collect a fee from insurance companies. Fees would be used to create a grant program for disaster mitigation and to assist with matching funds to qualify for federal grants.

Given that the state already has grant programs dedicated to disaster mitigation, this bill is duplicative and would unnecessarily drive premium costs up for Coloradans across our state who may or may not directly benefit from the mitigation efforts.

HB21-1229 Home Owners' Associations Governance Funding Record Keeping

This bill makes a multitude of changes to transparency, disclosure, regulation and executive governance practices for unit/homeowners associations (HOAs). Changes range from new digital posting requirements for community fees and standards to new agenda and voting rules at HOA meetings.

We were initially opposed to this legislation due to concerns about its impact on development. The bill required homeowners associations to transition control to residents sooner than current statute allows. In order for developers to optimize their ability to implement their vision for communities and adjust to the market over time, developers need the ability to have control of the HOA during the development period. Without that ability, developers face too much uncertainty to invest significant capital, and developments will no longer happen on a scale needed to address our supply issues. Amendments to this legislation have resolved our concerns.

HB21-1260 General Fund Transfer Implement State Water Plan

This bill allocates $20 million from the general fund to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to implement the state water plan. The state will transfer $15 million to the water plan implementation cash fund for expenditures and grants, while the remaining $5 million will be transferred to the water supply reserve fund to disperse to basin roundtables.

The Chamber has supported Colorado’s Water Plan since its initial development and sees this as a critical infusion of funding to help implement key projects across the state.

HB21-1269 Public Utilities Commission Study Of Community Choice Energy

This bill lays the groundwork to establish “community choice energy” (CCE). It requires the Public Utilities Commission to study CCE operations and outcomes of similar plans in other states to identify best practices and necessary adaptations to implement CCE in Colorado.

We oppose this bill because it lays the groundwork for CCE, a concept that we oppose without clear cost protections. CCE may duplicate infrastructure expenses for our utility sector, leading to increase costs for consumers and businesses. While this bill is only a study, it actively takes time and attention away from existing efforts to ensure low cost, low carbon solutions in Colorado.

HB21-1271 Department of Local Affairs Innovation Affordable Housing Strategies

This bill offers state assistance to local governments with the goal of creating more affordable housing strategies and practices. The Department of Local Affairs would distribute a total of $13 million to create and administer three programs (local government affordable housing development incentives grant program, local government planning grant program, and the affordable housing guided toolkit and local officials guide program). Grant eligibility depends on government adoption of affordable housing strategies and tools.

Homeownership is one of the best ways for people to build wealth for themselves and their families, but Colorado’s high cost of housing is preventing many Coloradans, particularly people of color and women, from entering the housing market. This bill will provide stimulus dollars to help local governments increase affordable housing through strategies that match their communities’ needs. This aligns with the Chamber’s work through its affiliate Prosper CO.

HB21-1286 Energy Performance For Buildings*

This bill requires owners of certain large buildings to collect and report the building’s energy use on an annual basis to the Colorado Energy Office. Owners of these covered buildings will be charged $100 annually for each building and beginning in 2027 will have to meet use standards outlined in the bill. Penalties ranging from $500 to $5,000 will be imposed for violations of energy standards.

While we support efforts to create more energy-efficient spaces and understand the need to standardize reporting at the state level, we oppose the benchmarking requirements in this legislation, as well as the penalties specified. It is challenging to set reduction targets without an understanding of how buildings are currently performing. This initial step should be taken before any reduction measures and penalties for missing these measures are implemented.

HB21-1324 Promote Innovative And Clean Energy Technologies

This bill gives the Public Utilities Commission authority to consider proposals from investor-owned utilities that would expand clean energy production, use and storage.

The Chamber supports incentivizing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This bill helps promote cost-effective research, development and deployment of innovative energy technologies and facilitates industry and public-private partnerships to help achieve zero-carbon electricity.

HB22-1013 Microgrids For Community Resilience Grant Program

This bill creates the Microgrids for Community Resilience Grant Program, allowing cooperative electric associations or municipally owned utilities in eligible rural communities to apply for funds to finance the purchase of microgrid resources. Communities within the utility's service territory are eligible if they have significant risk of severe weather or natural disasters, and if they contain one or more community anchor institutions, such as a school, library or hospital.

This bill creates a grant program that will increase community resilience and provide core services to the community in case of a disaster in cooperative and municipal utilities service territories. During extreme weather events and natural disasters, microgrids can continue to generate and deliver electricity to essential resources in a community, such as hospitals, fire stations, law enforcement facilities, government offices and emergency shelters. We believe this bill provides communities at high risk of wildfire and other natural disasters the opportunity to enhance reliable power systems to serve as backup during emergency service situations.

HB22-1119 Colorado False Claims Act

This bill establishes penalties, procedures and limitations regarding any individual who defrauds the state, a county or a municipality. Any such individual is subject to a civil penalty as established by the federal False Claims Act and is liable for additional damages to the defrauded entity and other attorney fees or costs.

Concerns raised by the business community have been addressed through a series of amendments that lower the penalty structure and give courts more discretion over penalties; clarify that actual knowledge, rather than an accidental oversight of a false claim, is required; and create safeguards against abuse by whistle blowers and their attorneys. Most importantly, adopted amendments create significant incentives for self-reporting, including lower penalties and a streamlined settlement process.

HB22-1218 Resource Efficiency Buildings Electric Vehicles

This bill places electric vehicle standards on commercial buildings and multifamily residences by requiring electric vehicle charging stations for at least 10% of their parking spaces if the building is 25,000 square feet or more. It also requires contractors to provide electric efficiency options when constructing certain buildings.

The market is trending toward electrification and resource efficiency, and businesses are preparing for this market transition by proactively building the infrastructure necessary to support green initiatives. We trust that the business community offers resources to consumers based on market demand. This bill is another significant mandate from the legislature to force a market transition and in this case one that is already happening on its own.

HB22-1282 Innovative Housing Incentive Programs

This bill creates the innovative housing incentive program and enables businesses that manufacture housing stock to apply. The program awards grants based on certain criteria, such as affordability, location within the state and energy efficiency. Funds may also be awarded for building manufacturing facilities. The bill appropriates $40 million to the fund to encourage housing manufacturers to develop affordable housing stock.

Developers play a pivotal role in creating affordable housing. This bill allows them to access vital state funds so that Colorado's vibrant and competitive workforce can afford to live and work in the state.

HB22-1287 Protections For Mobile Home Park Residents

This bill amends the Mobile Home Park Act and the Mobile Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program. This bill prohibits a landlord from increasing rent greater the rate of inflation or 3% over any 12-month period for mobile homes. It also requires landlords to repair a mobile home that incurs damage as a result of the landlord’s failure to maintain the premises, clarifies the disclosure responsibilities of a landlord with intent to sell a park, and mandates that public entities representing mobile homeowners have a right of first refusal to purchase a park.

The Chamber believes that our economy functions best when prices are set by the market. As such, introducing rent stabilization measures in one housing sector could lead us down a slippery slope that would end with negative consequences for our entire housing supply. We hope to continue to work with legislators and stakeholders in support of common-sense, market-driven approaches to housing.

HB22-1304 State Grants Investments Local Affordable Housing

This bill creates two grant programs: the local investments in transformational affordable housing grant program and the infrastructure and strong communities grant program. The affordable housing grant program provides grants to nonprofits for investment in affordable housing in their communities. The strong communities grant program provides local governments money to complete infill infrastructure projects to encourage affordable housing development.

Providing grants to non-profits and local governments is an effective way to increase housing inventory. We support the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to address this critical issue, allowing Colorado to remain a competitive place to do business.

HB23-1039 Electric Resource Adequacy Reporting

This bill requires wholesale electricity services in the state to file a report on the adequacy of its electric resources with the regulatory oversight entity responsible for approving resource plans or rates. The regulatory oversight entity must then submit annually any resource adequacy reports to the Colorado Energy Office. The Colorado Energy Office will then aggregate the resource adequacy reports into a statewide resource adequacy report.

This bill requires adequacy reporting, which allows the state to better understand the feasibility of a wholesale energy transition, especially as we progress toward electrification and a net-zero goal by 2050. This would help ensure there is a realistic transition and will be beneficial to framing the conversation around any future policy goals discussed by the General Assembly. We believe that having the business community lead the energy transition will ensure reliable and functional policies.

HB23-1090 Limit Metropolitan District Director Conflicts

For any residential special district, the district is prohibited from approving a purchase of debt from any entity with which the director has a conflict of interest. The bill further prohibits any board member from acquiring any interest in the debt.

Metro districts are essential mechanisms to allow for robust community development and act as a powerful financing tool. With such a lack of housing in the Metro Denver area, further restricting the business of Metro Districts will have detrimental effects on inventory and affordability.

HB23-1095 Prohibited Provisions in Rental Agreements

This bill amends current law to prohibit a rental agreement from including: an unreasonable liquidated damage clause stemming from an eviction notice; a one-way, fee-shifting clause that awards court costs and attorneys’ fees to only one party; and the clause must award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party. The bill also prohibits a waiver of the right to jury trial or to join a class action lawsuit or the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment; a provision allowing a landlord to levy a fee if tenant does not provide notice of renewal prior to the end of the rental agreement; and a provision that requires a tenant to pay a fee in excess of the amount a landlord paid for a service.

The Chamber opposes this bill because it adds undue burden to landlords. It eliminates flexibility for landlords to roll over their property to different tenants and creates added requirements and regulations, driving up housing costs and decreasing the amount of available housing.

HB23-1101 Ozone Season Transit Grant Program Flexibility

This bill increases the flexibility of the ozone season transit grant program by: allowing transit agencies in areas where ozone is highest at a different time than between June 1 to Aug. 31 to designate such time as its “ozone season”; to use grant money to advertise free ridership; to use grant money to increase free routes or increase their frequency; and allowing the regional transit district (RTD) to use grant money to cover the full costs, not just 80%, of free ridership fares. The bill also requires the governing body of each transportation district to include one voting member of a transit agency that offers transit service per region.

Free transit services proved to increase ridership, which had the additional benefits of making transit safer and restoring the vibrancy of commercial centers. As we strive to decongest our roads, retain public transit customers, and remedy the brown cloud, finding incentives to increase ridership are extremely important. This bill would continue to support the effort to increase ridership while also mitigating pollution by decreasing the number of commuters to and from our metro region.  

HB23-1105 Homeowners' Association And Metropolitan District Homeowners' Rights Task Forces

This bill creates the Homeowners' Association (HOA) Task Force and the Metro District Task Force. The HOA Task Force is required to: study issues regarding homeowners’ rights, including HOA fining and authority, foreclosure practices, and communications with homeowners; prepare an interim report regarding its findings; and prepare a final report on or before Dec. 31, 2023. The Metro District Task Force is required to: study issues confronting metropolitan districts homeowners’ rights, tax levying authority and practices, and foreclosure practices; and prepare a report regarding its findings on or before March 1, 2024.

This legislation is duplicative of existing statute and creates added administrative mechanisms to study already well-established data and understanding surrounding these organizations.

HB23-1115 Repeal Prohibition Local Residential Rent Control

This bill repeals a statute that prohibits counties and municipalities from enacting rent control on residential property.

Repealing the prohibition on rent control opens the door to municipalities creating a patchwork of regulations. This prohibition adds artificial pressures on the rental market and will cause new rental construction to grind to a halt, further exacerbating our housing shortage.

HB23-1190 Affordable Housing Right of First Refusal

This bill allows local governments to match an acceptable purchase offer on residential real property within its boundaries if the property is used for long-term affordable housing. The local government may assign its first right of refusal to the state or its local housing authority. This bill also requires notices be given by the seller to local governments, and the local government has 14 days to preserve its right of first refusal, 90 days to make an offer, and must close within 180 days. If the local government preserves the property as permanently affordable housing for 50 years, the use may be changed given the following criteria is met: notice is given to residents, residents are compensated for relocation, and the local government guarantees an equal or greater number of affordable housing units will be built in its place, and it offers these units to previous residents who have been displaced.

While the Chamber believes addressing housing affordability is vital for workforce retention and recruitment, this bill would repel capital investment and make it more difficult to build affordable housing stock. Provisions in the bill, such as allowing local governments to offer less than a competitive private offer and still purchase the property, or allowing a local government to take 13 months to close on a property, does not respect private property rights in the state. The best way to bring down housing costs is to support development in a meaningful way—cutting regulations, working to reform zoning, construction litigation reform, and incentivizing development professionals to invest and build in communities that need housing the most.

HB23-1232 Extend Housing Toolkit Time Frame

This bill clarifies that money transferred from the general fund or the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund to the Colorado heritage communities fund on June 27, 2021 must be expended before July 1, 2025. It further clarifies that the division of housing may award multiple grants in the Metro Denver area to prevent homelessness.

With housing affordability top of mind for workforce, we support this legislation because it extends timelines to use already-allocated funds to support grant programs for affordable housing. This is a commonsense way to ensure we are allocating funds that have already been earmarked to create a more affordable place for the workforce to live. In addition, the extension of this timeline will allow the housing taskforce to continue supporting homelessness initiatives, which supports economic competitiveness.

HB23-1255 Regulating Local Housing Growth Restrictions

This bill preempts any existing local growth restriction and prohibits local governments from enacting or enforcing one unless the local government has experienced a natural disaster emergency.

To increase the supply of housing, every community must do its part to develop within its boundaries. Growth caps create uneven external pressures on certain communities and contribute to an unbalanced real estate market. We support legislation that makes development easier, and this bill is one tool in the toolbox to bring down housing costs in Colorado.

HB23-1294 Pollution Protection Measures

This bill removes the requirement that the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) make rules setting conditions and limitations for start-up, shutdown or malfunction of air pollution that justify temporary relief from an emission control regulation. Currently, a person cannot permit air pollution emission at a nonresidential structure unless a notice has been filed with the Division of Administration in the Department of Public Health and Environment. This law adds more requirements, including that permits being approved by the division and the applicable period of review by the federal environmental protection has been completed. The law also removes the prohibition against the AQCC adopting stricter rules than federal law and adds new regulations to oil and gas construction permits to aggregate emission from a proposed or modified oil and gas system and consider emissions from exploration and preproduction activities. The bill also modifies the complaint process for noncompliance, adds requirements for the division to investigate, and creates new control measures that must be included in any state implementation plan for ozone adopted by the AQCC until a serious, severe, or extreme ozone nonattainment area is re-designated.

This bill would have sweeping consequences on energy production and utilization in the state, would raise energy costs for our workforce, and would create a regulatory process so onerous that it would grind the state’s permitting processes to a halt. The Chamber is especially concerned about provisions limiting vehicle miles traveled and putting the impetus to reduce this on the business community—an onerous and impossible task to be shouldered by one part of the community.

HB23-1302 Housing Accessibility

This bill modifies the accessible housing standards exception process for building plans submitted after July 1, 2023. When approving plans, a government may only grant an exception to the accessible housing standards when it is determined that the standards are technically infeasible or would create an undue hardship. The bill also requires that alteration of walls must also conform with certain minimum alteration requirements. This bill states that failure to comply with these minimum requirements constitutes discrimination and creates a civil action. This bill also requires a certain number of type B dwellings and in some cases at least one type A unit. The bill also requires newly constructed housing to have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, accessible fire alarms, accessible emergency exits, accessible mailboxes, and accessible signage.

Creating accessible housing is extremely important, but this bill creates complications in expediting the delivery of badly needed housing stock to market. New townhome units already meet federal ADA visibility requirements, and this bill would supersede federal law which is in place to assure accessibility—creating more red tape for developers, a prolonged permitting process, and added cost to housing.

HB23-1304 Proposition 123 Affordable Housing Programs

This bill modifies the voter-approved Proposition 123 in a number of ways. It allows tribal governments to participate; requires the Division of Local Government to administer the land planning capacity development program; allows the office to use a portion of the money from the fund for administrative expenses; allows for a certain recalculation of the area median income for affordable units; ensures that affordable units are included in the 3% growth obligation; and requires the Division of Housing to publish three annual reports.

Voters decided to support Proposition 123 in 2022, and we support operationalizing the initiative. While we did not take a position on the proposition, we support building more housing, and this legislation can be another tool in the toolbox to meet that goal.

HB24-1152 Accessory Dwelling Units

This is a bipartisan bill that aims to increase the number of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Colorado through new requirements, grant programs and limiting permitting restrictions. The bill requires jurisdictions to allow, subject to an administrative approval process, one ADU to a single unit detached dwelling. The bill also prohibits qualifying jurisdictions from enacting or enforcing certain local laws that would restrict the construction or conversion of an accessory dwelling unit.

The Chamber Supports HB24-1152. We encourage a bipartisan effort to increase housing inventory and provide diverse options for Coloradans. This bill both incentivizes the construction or conversion of ADUs through grant programs and lowers the barrier to entry by limiting permit restrictions and local laws that would normally prohibit ADU construction. ADUs are a critical option for a diverse set of stakeholders, including the disabled community looking to stay close to their support systems and giving seniors the opportunity to age in place. While we understand this is not the only solution needed to address Colorado’s housing needs, this piece of legislation works to bring much needed housing inventory to market.

HB24-1266 Local Government Utility Relocation in Right-of-Way

A bipartisan bill that requires local governments to notify affected utility companies of road improvement projects and establishes the process by which local governments and utility companies may enter into agreements concerning the relocation of utility facilities. The bill requires local governments and utility companies to coordinate on road improvement projects necessitating the alteration of utility lines. The utility must pay for the costs associated with an unreasonable delay.

The Chamber has taken an amend position on HB24-1266. The Denver Metro Chamber encourages collaboration and effective coordination between utility companies and local governments to ensure efficient processes. We encourage clear and fair compliance measures that foster a beneficial relationship between the utilities and local government.

HB24-1313 Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities

A bill that seeks to increase the affordability of housing in transit-oriented communities (TOCs). This includes providing definitions for TOCs and counties required to adhere to the new requirements to meet housing opportunity goals. A housing opportunity goal is a zoning capacity goal based on an average zoned housing density and the number of transit-related areas within a transit-oriented community. The bill requires a transit-oriented community to meet its housing opportunity goal by ensuring that enough areas in the transit-oriented community qualify as transit centers. The bill creates the transit-oriented communities infrastructure fund grant program to assist local governments in upgrading infrastructure within transit centers and neighborhood centers. In addition, a transit-oriented community is required to demonstrate that it has met its housing opportunity goal by submitting a housing opportunity goal report to the department of local affairs.

The Chamber supports HB24-1313. Colorado’s housing shortage is the Denver Metro Chamber’s primary policy concern. We support increased incentives and removal of barriers to encourage the development of transit-oriented communities. The Chamber will continue to support and encourage legislation that provides an increase in the stock of housing as our state continues to grapple with the impacts of a housing shortage.

HB24-1316 Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit

The bill creates a pilot program for an income tax credit for owners of qualified housing developments focused on rental housing for middle-income individuals and families. Middle-income individuals and families are defined as having an annual-household income between 80% and 120% of the median income of households the same size within their region. Rural resort counties would be defined as having an annual income of 80% and 140% of the area median income. The amount is credited and determined by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) and the aggregate amount of credits allocated in a year cannot exceed $10 million. The bill also requires CHFA to annually report on the middle-income tax credit pilot program to the general assembly and to make the report publicly available.

The Denver Metro Chamber Supports HB24-1316. Providing pathways to address the serious need for attainable housing is the Denver Metro Chamber’s leading policy priority. We believe that in order to reach this goal, Colorado needs an “all of the above” approach. By providing an income tax credit to incentivize development for middle-income citizens, we can continue to address the critical need for additional housing options in Colorado – contributing to the overall health of our economy.

HB24-1352 Appliance Requirements & Incentives

A bill that prohibits the sale and distribution of certain HVAC systems manufactured after Jan. 1, 2027, and sets up a process that allows individuals to make anonymous reports of violation of technical standards. The bill imposes new penalties for violation, including a warning letter to the alleged violator and in the case of a third subsequent violation, the attorney general may bring a civil action and seek up to $2,000. The bill also would require the Colorado Energy Office to conduct a study comparing the cost difference between an HVAC system that meets the technical standards and the HVAC system that does not. In addition, the bill creates a $5,000 refundable state income tax credit per installation of an eligible heat pump available for home builders or HVAC contractors. Lastly, the bill requires recipients of state financial assistance for new building construction projects that include energy-consuming products covered by the Energy Star program to use covered energy-consuming products certified by the Energy Star program.

The Chamber has taken an amend position on HB24-1352. We recognize that addressing greenhouse gas emissions is a priority for the metro area; however, this bill places significant penalties and mandates on individuals that fail or cannot afford to comply. We agree that heat pumps are a viable alternative energy source however, this new technology cannot fit all of Colorado’s homeowners’ needs or budget – passing an undue burden onto individuals who are already struggling to stay afloat in Colorado’s housing market.

HB24-1357 Pipeline Safety

A bill that seeks to make changes to the existing pipeline safety rules, requiring the Public Utilities Commission to increase mapping requirements for all pipelines within its jurisdiction, decommission sections of pipeline that have not been used for two or more years, and develop a website for pipeline safety data in Colorado. The bill also makes significant changes to the penalties for violating pipeline safety law, increasing the penalties from $200,000 to $500,000, allowing the Commission to increase penalties based on certain metrics and factors, and beginning in 2026, the Commission would be required to adjust the penalty for inflation every two years.

The Chamber opposes HB24-1357. The Denver Metro Chamber supports the safety and wellbeing of our citizens and agrees that pipeline safety is paramount. As a result, we have serious security and safety concerns with this bill and any requirement to map the location of all of Colorado’s pipelines. Energy companies are already at a heightened risk of being targeted and this proposal would put the industry and Coloradan’s access to energy in jeopardy. Additionally, cost of compliance would be significant and ultimately passed on to Colorado ratepayers, without achieving the goal of increasing safety.

SB17-042 Repeal of Local Government Internet Service Voter Approval

This bill repeals restrictions meant to keep governments from competing with telecommunication companies. The bill also removes restrictions that prevent governments from using governmental immunity to circumvent federal and state rules and from engaging in preferential or discriminatory practices in the provision of telecommunication services.

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.

SB17-089 Allow Electric Utility Customers to Install Energy Storage Equipment

The bill directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require all utilities in the state to allow electric customers to install and use electricity storage systems on their property without restrictions or regulations and without changes in their rate.

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.

SB17-156 Homeowners' Association Construction Defect Lawsuit Approval Timelines

This bill requires alternative dispute resolution before filing a construction defects lawsuit if written into the governing documents. It also requires that all owners receive notification of any legal proceedings related to their property and that a majority of homeowners vote to proceed with the construction defect claim before a lawsuit is filed.

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.

SB17-157 Construction Defect Actions Notice Vote Approval

This bill requires that a homeowners’ association (HOA) board must notify all unit owners before filing a lawsuit against a developer or builder, disclosing information about the lawsuit and its potential costs and benefits and obtain the approval of a majority of unit owners. This bill also preempts municipal ordinances requiring alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and extends the statute of limitations by freezing the clock while the HOA is going through the voting process with owners.

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.

SB17-188 Repeal Income Tax Credit of Innovative Motor Vehicles

This bill is a referred measure that repeals the current income tax credit on purchased and leased innovative trucks and vehicles and uses that money to fund the highway users tax fund.

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.

SB17-279 Applicability Recent Urban Renewal Legislation

This bill clarifies technical portions of HB15-1348, a bill that modified provisions governing urban redevelopment, by expressly listing the types of changes to existing plans that will trigger retroactive compliance with HB15-1348.

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.

SB17-303 State Highway System Funding and Financing

This bill refers a measure to the November 2017 ballot asking voters to approve $3.5 billion in bonds for transportation funding and requires that 10 percent of existing revenue from state sales and use taxes be transferred to the Colorado Department of Transportation for payment of bonds and ongoing maintenance.

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.

SB18-001 Transportation Infrastructure Funding

This bill provides $500 million in one-time and $250 million in ongoing transportation funding, and gives the legislature the option to refer a measure to the November 2019 ballot asking voters to approve $3.5 billion in bonds for transportation funding.

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.

SB18-002 Financing Rural Broadband Deployment

Currently nonrural local exchange carriers receive subsidies from the high-cost support mechanism fund (HCSM) to deploy telephone services in underserved areas of the state. This bill requires that starting Jan. 1, 2019, the Public Utilities Commission repurpose 20 percent of the total amount of the HCSM fund to assist in broadband deployment in underserved areas of the state and in 20 percent cumulative increments every year thereafter on Jan. 1 through 2023.

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.

SB18-007 Affordable Housing Tax Credit

This bill changes the name of the existing low-income housing tax credit to the affordable housing tax credit and extends the credit for five years. Modeled after the federal program, the state program allows the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to allocate tax credits for the development of low-income rental housing.

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

SB18-009 Allow Electric Utility Customers to Install Energy Storage Equipment

This bill prohibits a utility from being able to accurately measure the amount of energy a customer with an electricity storage system on their property is distributing back to the grid by removing the utility’s right to install additional meters on the customer’s property. It also allows electric customers to install, interconnect and use electricity storage systems on their property without restrictions or regulations and without additional rates or fees.

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.

SB18-038 Reclaimed Water Use on Industrial Hemp

This bill allows reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for industrial hemp cultivation.

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.

SB18-048 Protect Act Local Government Authority Oil & Gas Facilities

This bill expands the land use authority of local governments in relation to oil and gas mineral extraction areas.

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.

SB18-063 Oil Gas Higher Financial Assurance Reclamation Requirements

This bill requires that an oil and gas operator be able to demonstrate that they have the finances to cover all foreseeable expenses should an event occur where they have failed to meet compliance obligations. Only at that time would the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission be allowed to issue financial assurance to approve operations.

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.

SB18-064 Require 100% Renewable Energy By 2035

This bill updates the renewable energy standard to require that all electric utilities, including cooperative electric associations and municipally owned utilities, derive their energy from 100 percent renewable sources by 2035.

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.

SB18-167 Enforcement Requirements 811 Locate Underground Facilities

This bill creates the Underground Damage Prevention Safety Commission to help bring Colorado law surrounding underground excavations up to the standards of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s requirements.

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.

SB18-196 Repeal Late Vehicle Registration Fee

This bill repeals the late vehicle registration fee for all motor vehicles effective Jan. 1, 2019.

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.

SB18-216 Alternate Fuel Vehicles Public Utilities

This bill enables public utilities to recover the costs of implementing electric or natural gas vehicle fueling stations. It also allows public utilities to consider transportation electrification and natural gas vehicle programs to support greater adoption of these technologies.

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

SB18-230 Modify Laws Drilling Units Pooling Orders

This bill modifies reporting and disclosure requirements to provide clarity and notice to all impacted parties of pooling procedures and options available to mineral owners and reduces the liability for those owners who do not voluntary consent to pooled drilling in instances where they are compelled to allow access to their minerals.

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.

SB19-051 Increase General Fund Funding For Transportation

Current law enacted by SB18-001 dedicated a total of $150 million from the general fund to fund transportation as the following: $105 million to the state highway fund, $22.5 million to the highway users tax fund and $22.5 million to the multimodal transportation options fund. This bill increases the total amount to $340 million for the transfer, increasing the amount to the state highway fund to $226.5 million, the amount to the highway users tax fund to $51 million and keeping the amount to the multimodal transportation options fund the same.

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.

SB19-101 Prerequisites For Construction Of Managed Lanes

This bill would prohibit the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) from constructing or designating a managed (toll/high occupancy vehicle) lane on a state highway unless they take several steps to prove that a managed lane is the best option for the project. CDOT must publish findings that show the alternatives to the managed lanes are unfeasible or unsafe and must publish a report of the results of its public outreach efforts relating to the managed lane.

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.

SB19-181 Protect Public Welfare Oil And Gas Operations

Current law states that local governments have authority over oil and gas mineral extractions only if the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has identified the specific area for designation. This bill expands local government control by repealing the need for the designation. This bill also:
• Directs the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to adopt rules to minimize emissions of methane and other hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from the oil and gas fuel cycle and to require operators to install continuous emission monitoring equipment at a facility,
• Reforms the mission and composition of the COGCC by directing the COGCC to focus on minimizing impacts to public health, safety, the environment and wildlife resources, and by reducing the number of members with experience in the oil and gas industry and increasing the number of members with experience in wildlife and environmental protection and
• Alters forced pooling laws by requiring that the owners of more than 50 percent of the mineral interest join the application for a pooling order.

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.

SB19-196 Colorado Quality Apprenticeship Training Act Of 2019

This bill requires that all construction contracts for public projects that are expected to cost over $1 million be awarded by a competitive, sealed best-value bidding process, rather than invitation for lowest bid. A best-value bidding process requires the contractor to disclose the estimated use of registered apprentices, minority-owned businesses and craft labor, as well as the contractor’s and subcontractor’s job standards, which includes disclosing their health care, wage and retirement benefits, whether they pay industry standard wages and their long-term career opportunities for workers. This bill also requires the contractor to disclose all subcontractors when submitting a bid.

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.

SB19-225 Authorize Local Governments To Stabilize Rent

This bill repeals a prohibition that prevents towns, cities and counties from enacting a rent control ordinance on a private residence, whether it’s housing or apartments.

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.

SB19-239 Address Impacts Of Transportation Changes

This bill requires the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to convene a group of stakeholders to examine various impacts to the transportation system including new and emerging transportation technologies, business models and funding options that raise fees on the use of motor vehicles used for commercial purposes but are not calculated under the TABOR cap. The stakeholder group will prepare a report on policy recommendations for CDOT, which will consider these recommendations in their annual presentation to the legislature.

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.

SB19-250 Limit Tiered Rates Electric Utilities

This bill removes the ability of an electric utility to a charge a summer residential tiered rate for certain utilities. Mandates that all electric utilities currently charging residential summer tiered rates must move to a single rate system based on kilowatt-hours consumed during the summer by June 1, 2020.

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.

SB19-262 General Fund Transfer To Highway Users Tax Fund

This bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $100 million from the general fund to the highway users tax fund, which allocates 60 percent to the state highway fund, 22 percent to counties and 18 percent to municipalities.

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.

SB19-263 Delay Referral Of TRANs Transportation Revenue Anticipation Notes Ballot Issue To 2020

This bill delays a referred measure asking voters to approve bonds for transportation funding from the 2019 ballot to the 2020 ballot. It also requires the state treasurer to transfer $50 million from the general fund to the highway users tax fund, which allocates 60 percent to the state highway fund, 22 percent to counties and 18 percent to municipalities.

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.

SB20-013 Promote Innovative and Clean Energy Technologies

This bill would allow an investor-owned public utility to seek approval from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to implement an innovative energy technology project which would allow them to test emerging technologies in an effort to lower emissions. It would also allow the public utility to recuperate costs it incurs from researching, testing and implementing the project.

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.

SB20-094 Plug-in Electric Motor Vehicle Registration Fees

This bill authorizes the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise to impose fees on the registration of plug-in electric motor vehicles. Fees would contribute to funding for surface transportation infrastructure projects.

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.

SB20-138 Consumer Protection Construction Defect Time Period

This bill increases the statute of limitations for actions based on construction defects from six years to 10 years.

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.

SB20-153 Water Resource Financing Enterprise

This bill will create an enterprise fund to finance water providers including drinking water suppliers, wastewater treatment suppliers and raw water suppliers. The fee will be 25 cents per 1,000 gallons of water, collected after the first 4,000 gallons of water.

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.

SB21-125 Alternate Proposals Air Quality Control Rulemaking

This bill clarifies that the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) may give notice of rulemaking prior to 60 days before a hearing and requires the notice to include a description of the classes of people and entities that will be affected by the proposed rule. It also adds requirements for the AQCC related to timing and deadlines, governance, economic impacts and stakeholder outreach and impacts for any alternate proposals submitted in a rulemaking process.

This bill ensures that the rulemaking process includes ample stakeholder outreach and maintains focus on the intended subject of rulemaking rather than unrelated, and often distracting, alternative proposals. We see this effort as a positive step toward streamlining rulemaking while continuing to engage impacted parties.

SB21-173 Rights in Residential Lease Agreements

This bill dramatically adjusts landlord and tenant rights in residential rental agreements. Changes include prosecuting wrongful eviction claims under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, modifying the timeline for default writ of restitution, eliminating the bond requirement for warranty of habitability and implementing an array of new landlord prohibitions.

This bill would drastically alter the relationship between landlords and tenants and greatly expand landlord liability, jeopardizing the state’s already limited options for Coloradans in need of affordable workforce housing. It would also implement requirements that would make it more difficult for landlords to pay their mortgages on time when a tenant is behind in rent.

SB21-200 Reduce Greenhouse Gases Increase Environmental Justice

This bill directs the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to enhance its role in rulemaking aimed at reducing statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It directs wholesale generation and transmission electric cooperatives to file with the public utilities commission plans to achieve an 80% GHG reduction by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, eventually working to 100% reduction by 2040. It also gives AQCC authority to collect annual emission fees from GHG pollution. Further, this bill creates an environmental justice advisory board and an ombudsperson position within the Department of Public Health and Environment.

The Chamber has serious concerns about creating hard targets in legislation. Hard targets inhibit an industry’s or sector’s flexibility when working to implement legislative goals. In this case, hard targets for specific industries ultimately do not reduce carbon emissions wholesale, but rather shift those emissions from one industry to another. Furthermore, this legislation did not go through a robust stakeholder outreach process—a process that could have addressed carbon-shifting concerns and would have raised the need for consumer and reliability protections. Finally, this bill attempts to expedite carbon reduction efforts that are already underway by circumnavigating the governor’s office and stakeholders who are currently and collaboratively engaged in this conversation.

SB21-252 Community Revitalization Grant Program

This bill establishes the Community Revitalization Grant Program in the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade Division of Creative Industries to provide funding to various projects across the state that will create or revitalize mixed-use commercial centers. These creative projects will combine revitalized or newly constructed commercial spaces with community spaces. The division will create the program structure by Sept. 1, 2021, and grants will be awarded by Dec. 31, 2022.

We recognize that the pandemic and a shift to work-from-home culture has devastated our commercial centers and metropolitan areas. This bill funds creative solutions to unused space while forging business opportunities that will boost our economic recovery.

SB21-260 Sustainability Of The Transportation System

This bill creates new sources of funding specifically to maintain and modernize Colorado’s infrastructure. Areas of investment include electric vehicle support, state highways, air pollution mitigation, bridge and tunnel projects, multimodal and public transportation. These projects would be funded through a variety of fees and general fund transfers.

Our members know we must invest more in transportation and have supported doing so for years. While this policy isn’t perfect, it is a bill rooted in the reality of our situation that secures more of the funding we so desperately need in Colorado. We support this bill with the understanding that questions about its constitutionality will be determined by the courts. This bill doesn’t solve all our problems, and we will continue to advocate for more general fund investment in infrastructure and longer-term, sustainable transportation funding solutions.

SB21-261 Public Utilities Commission Encourage Renewable Energy Generation

This bill makes substantial changes to the state’s renewable energy standards and customer-sited distributed generation facilities (e.g., rooftop solar panels). Major changes include eliminating the 120%-of-usage cap on energy production through distributed generation facilities and the implementation of meter collar adapters.

Removing the current 120%-of-usage cap on consumer-sited distribution generation facilities will increase costs for a majority of energy users, both commercial and residential. It will require additional infrastructure updates. The customers who require the updates will not share in those costs. Additionally, it will require energy providers to pay those consumers a higher rate for their excess energy, further increasing costs for other customers.

SB21-264 Adopt Programs Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This bill creates clean heat targets for “gas distribution utilities” (GDU), defined as gas utilities that have more than 90,000 retail customers. GDUs would be required to develop and register a plan with the Public Utilities Commission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the air quality control commission would participate in a rulemaking process to define qualified offsets that meet the clean heat targets.

The Chamber is supportive of efforts to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. This bill offers the flexibility utilities need to be able to successfully implement changes that will reduce the emission of these gases.

SB22-146 Middle Income Access Program Expansion

This bill transfers $25 million to expand the middle-income access program through the department of local affairs. It is administered by the Colorado housing and finance authority.

This bill supports a continuum of housing for the often-overlooked “missing middle.” At a time when housing prices are skyrocketing, this bill creates an opportunity for our workforce to access affordable housing. The fund has previously proven to be effective, and we applaud the legislature for continuing a viable program without re-inventing the wheel.

SB23-001 Authority of Public-private Collaboration Unit For Housing

This bill authorizes the public-private collaboration unit in the Department of Personnel to perform additional functions to provide housing. These include: accepting gifts, grants and donations to be credited to the state-owned real property fund if unused; utilizing proceeds from real estate transactions and revenue from public-private agreements; acting as an agent on behalf of the department in real estate transactions deeded to the department; and creating a process for using requests for information to solicit projects.

Housing is one of the Chamber’s top legislative priorities, and we applaud the General Assembly for crafting a public-private partnership system to deliver desperately needed housing stock to market. This bill is effective because it inventories underutilized state lands and repurposes them to build affordable housing, slashing costs to developers and passing savings on to consumers. The Chamber appreciates the General Assembly’s approach to housing using an incentives-based, public-private partnership model, rather than a one-size-fits-all mandate system.

SB23-016 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures

The bill commits Colorado to a net-zero target by revising its 2050 goal to 100% emissions reductions and sets additional interim targets at five-year intervals. This bill includes measures that establish a state income tax credit in an amount equal to 30% of the purchase price for new, electric-powered lawn equipment and construction of new transmission lines for a cleaner electric grid by requiring local governments to expedite reviews of transmission projects.

The Chamber opposes this bill unless amended. While the Chamber supports tax credit incentives to ease the cost of transitioning to electric energy for businesses, we trust that the current targets for the state’s emission reduction plan are sufficient to meet the net-zero goal by 2050. We oppose changing interim targets on emission reduction standards because it places an onus on businesses to retrofit their property in time to meet these targets. The cost of these changes will have a damaging impact on the economy with most of the financial burden being placed on the back of businesses. We encourage the sponsor of this bill to remove the interim targets and clarify the incentive language.

SB23-035 Middle-income Housing Authority Act

This bill clarifies that the middle-income housing authority has the ability to enter into public-private partnerships by specifying that: the affordable rental housing component of a public-private partnership is exempt from state and local tax; a public-private partnership may transfer interest of the project to an entity other than the authority; the authority may issue bonds to finance affordable rental housing; and bonds issued by the authority may be paid with the revenue and assets of the affordable rental housing component of a partnership.

The Chamber supports this legislation because it provides clarity to the operationalization of the middle-income housing authority, so that our state can increase sorely needed housing inventory. We encourage the General Assembly to continue advancing a public-private partnership model because it is a commonsense way to increase housing stock and create affordable housing for our workforce.

SB23-213 Land Use

This bill requires the Director of the Department of Local Affairs to conduct a housing needs assessment every five years, beginning no later than Dec. 31, 2024, which must determine current statewide housing stock as well as future need. It also requires Urban Municipalities and Rural Resort Communities to develop their own housing needs assessments, which will detail their plan to address the housing needs assigned to them by the Department of Local Affairs. The bill also prohibits local governments from enacting any ordinance that does not allow construction of accessory dwelling units where single-family residential zoning is a use-by-right. In addition, the bill requires Tier 1 Urban Municipalities and Rural Resort Communities to allow middle housing (multiplex structures up to six units) to be constructed where single-family residential zoning is currently a use-by-right. In designated key corridors, the bill sets guidelines for number of units which must be reserved for low and moderate income households and sets minimum density standards. The bill also requires a municipality to adopt either a standard model code or adopt local laws that satisfy the minimum standards for the above provisions of the bill. Further, the bill prohibits municipalities from setting different or stricter standards on the construction of factory-built homes, prohibits minimum square footage, prohibits residential occupancy limits, and appropriates $15 million from the general fund to assist local governments to administer the provisions of the bill.

Colorado is in an acute housing shortage, and this bill standardizes regulations and cuts red tape, making it easier to build sorely needed housing stock. It offers a roadmap that will create smart, denser development where it makes sense, while also preserving Colorado’s current neighborhood character. While we understand it is not a perfect piece of legislation, the economic need Colorado has for housing is immense and this bill works to bring much needed housing inventory to market.

SB23-283 Mechanisms For Federal Infrastructure Funding

This bill clarifies that money from the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” cash fund can be used by the Governor’s Office as project planning support and requires that the State Treasurer transfer $86 million from the general fund to the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” cash fund.

As Colorado continues to expand, so will our infrastructure needs. This bill will help financially support infrastructure expansion and investment in job creation throughout the state, helping Colorado maintain its economic competitiveness amongst surrounding states.

SB23-291 Utility Regulation

This bill socializes on-site solar costs to install systems; changes fuel cost modeling; gives discretion to the administrative state to determine the standard of review in cases on a case-by-case basis; mandates disclosure requirements; builds out extensive cost recovery exclusions; requires disclosure of individuals employed by regulated entities; including salaries and wages; establishes “fuel cost sharing” models; eliminates line extension allowances; establishes a study process to shorten depreciation lives; and grants special rights to non-regulated energy providers.

This bill would devastate the state’s utility production and energy supply and would severely jeopardize the ability of utility providers to do business in the state by way of onerous and harmful regulation. It would tie the hands of large utility providers to have a seat at the table to negotiate in political arenas, would set back our energy transition, and would hurt Colorado’s consumers and businesses.

SB24-174 Sustainable Affordable Housing Assistance

The bill requires the executive director of the Department of Local Affairs to develop reasonable methodologies for conducting statewide, regional, and local housing needs assessments and reasonable guidance for a local government to identify areas at elevated risk of displacement. The bill also requires the director to conduct and publish several different types of housing reports including a statewide housing needs assessment, a report identifying current housing stock and estimating statewide needs, and several directories detailing different components of housing and land use strategies. In addition, the bill requires a local government with a population of 1,000 people or more to make an annual housing action plan, which is an advisory document that demonstrates a local government’s commitment to address housing needs, guiding legislative action. Lastly, the bill also sets up a $15 million dollar grant program to provide technical assistance to aid local governments in establishing regional entities, creating local and regional housing needs assessments, making the housing action plan, enacting laws and policies that encourage the development of housing that mitigate displacement, and creating strategic growth in master plans.

The Chamber supports SB24-174. The Denver Metro Chamber recognizes that the lack of affordable housing slows Colorado’s economic growth, undermines our ability to attract and retain talent, and poses a significant challenge to employees and employers across the state. We encourage a data driven approach to best address the statewide need for housing, enabling the state to understand the discrete needs of each region and how to best allocate resources. Colorado’s housing crisis is a multifaceted issue, and we believe we need to develop solutions across the housing continuum to adequately address it.

SCR17-002 Real Estate Transfer Tax for Affordable Housing

This concurrent resolution will refer to the voters on the November ballot a real estate transfer tax of 1/10 of one percent that will be used to fund affordable housing.

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.

SCR19-003 Replace Motor Fuel Taxes With Additional Sales Tax

This resolution refers an amendment to the Colorado constitution to voters in 2020 requiring that the General Assembly enact a law to replace the existing gas tax with a state sales-and-use tax to be used exclusively to fund the construction, maintenance and supervision of the surface transportation system.

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.