| Summary |
Section 1 of the bill requires each insurance company issued a
certificate of authority to transact insurance business to prepare and file
an annual report with the insurance commissioner providing a
climate-risk assessment for the insurance company's investment portfolio
from the previous 12 months. The commissioner of insurance is required
to post the reports on the division of insurance's website. Section 1
defines climate-risk assessment as a determination of the economic and
business risks that climate change poses to an investment.
Section 2 requires the board of trustees of the public employees'
retirement association (PERA board) to prepare a similar annual report
and post it on the PERA board's website.
Section 3 updates the statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission
reduction goals to add a 40% reduction goal for 2028 compared to 2005
GHG pollution levels and a 75% reduction goal for 2040 compared to
2005 GHG pollution levels.
Section 4 defines a small off-road engine as a gasoline-powered
engine of 50 horsepower or less used to fuel small off-road equipment
like lawn mowers and leaf blowers. Section 4 phases out the use of small
off-road engines by prohibiting their sale in nonattainment areas of the
state on or after January 1, 2030, and by providing financial incentives to
promote the replacement of small off-road engines with electric-powered,
small off-road equipment before 2030.
Section 11 establishes a state income tax credit in an amount equal
to 30% of the purchase price for new, electric-powered, small off-road
equipment for purchases made in income tax years 2023 through 2029.
Section 6 gives the oil and gas conservation commission authority
over class VI injection wells used for sequestration of GHG, including
through the issuance and enforcement of permits.
Section 7 requires the commissioner of agriculture or the
commissioner's designee, in consultation with the Colorado energy office
and the air quality control commission, to conduct a study examining
carbon reduction and sequestration opportunities in the agricultural sector
in the state, including the potential development of certified carbon offset
programs or credit instruments. On or before December 15, 2022, the
commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's designee is required
to submit a report summarizing the study, including any legislative
recommendations, to the general assembly.
In support of the use of agrivoltaics, which is the colocation of
solar energy generation facilities on a parcel of land with agricultural
activities, section 8 authorizes the Colorado agriculture value-added
development board (board) to provide financing, including grants or
loans, for agricultural research on the use of agrivoltaics. For a research
project for which the board awards money to study the use of agrivoltaics,
sections 5 and 8 require the director of the division of parks and wildlife
to consult on the research project regarding the wildlife impacts of
agrivoltaic use.
Section 9 authorizes the board to seek, accept, and expend gifts,
grants, and donations, including donations of in-kind resources such as
solar panels, for use in agricultural research projects. Section 9 also
updates the statutory definition of agrivoltaics to list additional
agricultural activities on the parcel of land on which solar panel
generation facilities may be colocated, including animal husbandry, cover
cropping for soil health, and carbon sequestration.
Section 10 amends the statutory definition of solar energy
facility used in determining the valuation of public utilities for property
tax purposes to include agrivoltaics.
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