Establishes the Crash Prevention Enterprise, an entity aimed at funding projects that reduce collisions between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users, as well as wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Funds the enterprise through a Crash Prevention Fee added to automobile insurance policies.
Seeks to lower automobile insurance costs by improving road safety and reducing high-risk incidents.
Key Provisions
Creation of the Crash Prevention Enterprise
Operates as a state enterprise to oversee funding and grants for crash prevention projects.
Can accept gifts, grants, donations, and loans to fund safety projects.
Governed by a Board, which sets rules, criteria, and funding processes.
Crash Prevention Fee (Funding Mechanism)
Fee charged per auto insurance policy starting January 1, 2026.
Maximum fee schedule:
$1.75 per policy (January–June 2026)
$3.50 per policy (July 2026–June 2027)
Adjusted annually for inflation starting July 2027.
Insurance companies must collect and forward the fee to the enterprise.
Penalty for non-payment: Insurers failing to collect or pay the fee may face civil penalties up to 120% of the amount due.
Use of Funds
80% allocated to grants for projects reducing collisions involving motor vehicles and vulnerable road users (e.g., pedestrians, cyclists).
20% allocated to wildlife-vehicle collision reduction projects.
Funds can be used for projects on high-risk or high-injury road networks and wildlife migration corridors.
Grant Distribution & Project Selection
Grants awarded based on expected effectiveness in reducing crashes and insurance policy costs.
Priority given to projects on high-risk networks or alternative routes for non-motor vehicle travelers.
Funding distribution aims to reflect regional revenue contributions from fee collections
Transparency & Accountability
10-year plan published by June 1, 2026 outlining strategy and funding estimates.
Public dashboard tracking project progress, funding, and expenditures.
Annual reports to legislature and public on enterprise activities.
Subject to Open Meetings and Public Records Laws.
Enforcement & Compliance
The Colorado Division of Insurance will ensure insurers collect and remit the fee.
Non-compliance results in civil penalties and potential enforcement actions.
Impact of the Bill
Financial Impact: Expected to raise up to $100 million over five years to fund crash prevention initiatives.
Road Safety Benefits: Aims to reduce collisions, protect vulnerable road users, and lower auto insurance costs.
Wildlife Protection: Supports infrastructure to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions.
This bill establishes a dedicated funding source to improve road safety, with insurers facilitating fee collection and grant funding directed at high-impact projects.
Summary
Section 1 of the bill creates the crash prevention enterprise
(enterprise) in the department of transportation (CDOT) for the purpose of lowering automobile insurance costs by providing funding for transportation system infrastructure improvements and other data-driven strategies that reduce the number of collisions that involve a motor vehicle, particularly collisions between a motor vehicle and a vulnerable road user or wildlife (eligible projects). Beginning January 1, 2026, the enterprise is authorized to impose a crash prevention fee (fee) of up to a specified maximum amount on the policyholder of each automobile insurance policy issued in the state on a per-policy basis. Each insurer that issues an automobile insurance policy must collect the fee from the policyholder and pay the fee to the enterprise.
The specified maximum amount of the fee adjusts annually on July
1, 2027, and on each July 1 thereafter for inflation, as measured by the rolling 5-year average of the national highway construction cost index published by the federal highway administration in the United States department of transportation. Fee revenue is credited to a newly created crash prevention enterprise fund (fund) and continuously appropriated to the enterprise.
The enterprise is authorized to expend 80% of its available
revenue to issue grants to eligible entities, which are local governments, state or federally recognized tribal entities, public entities that are not part of the state, and private entities, for eligible projects that reduce motor vehicle collisions with vulnerable road users, as defined by the bill, and 20% of its available revenue to fund eligible projects that reduce motor vehicle collisions with wildlife. Section 2 authorizes the division of insurance in the department of
regulatory agencies, upon receiving notice from the enterprise of an insurer's failure to collect the fee from its automobile insurance policyholders and pay the fee to the enterprise, to institute an enforcement proceeding and seek specified civil penalties from the insurer.
