Bill Tracker

Approved by the Transportation Legislation Review Committee, the bill aims to enhance paratransit services for individuals with disabilities in Colorado. The bill introduces specific duties for transit agencies and establishes a task force to study and recommend best practices for paratransit services.

By January 1, 2026, transit agencies are required to collaborate with local emergency service providers to develop a plan for communicating information and delivering paratransit services during emergencies. Transit agencies must ensure that the fare collection technology used for paratransit services is comparable to that of regular or fixed-route services, promoting equity and ease of use for all passengers. Before reducing any paratransit service areas, transit agencies are mandated to consult with affected community members and conduct an impact analysis. This analysis should assess the number of users affected, alternative transit options, funding sustainability, and the suitability of different vehicles for various passenger needs. Finally, the bill establishes a 16-member task force within the Department of Transportation. This task force is charged with studying and making recommendations on standardizing and implementing best practices for paratransit services across the state. A report summarizing their findings and recommendations is to be submitted to the Transportation Legislation Review Committee by October 15, 2025.

The bill mandates that local governments in Colorado must approve or deny applications for collocation projects within 90 days, or 150 days for new wireless service facility applications. If no decision is made within these timelines, and after required public notices and notification to the local government that the deadline has passed, the application is deemed approved. Local governments may toll the review deadline once for up to 45 days to gather additional required information (with written notice to the applicant), and both parties can agree in writing to further extensions. Applicants must also wait for any required traffic-control or safety permits before beginning work, and local governments cannot demand new permits for routine, non-substantial equipment replacements provided they are notified. Safety, zoning, and building rules still apply.

The bill allows counties, special districts, and school districts to provide incentive payments or credits to communication service providers that expand a facility in an unserved or underserved area within their jurisdiction. Incentive payments or credits may not exceed the amount of property taxes levied by the local government on the real or personal property located within the facility for the current property tax year. Qualified facilities include communication service property facilities, infrastructure, equipment, or other real or personal property used to provide wireless telephone services and fixed broadband or mobile broadband internet access. Equipment includes items such as mode switches, routers, servers, multiplexers, fiber optics, macro cell towers, micro cell towers, and other equipment. Unserved areas are defined as areas where broadband internet access service does not meet the minimum broadband benchmarks established by the Federal Communications Commission. Underserved areas are defined as areas where broadband internet access service is not available from more than one provider at speeds meeting or exceeding the same minimum broadband benchmarks. To offset lost revenue from the tax incentives, counties and special districts may adjust their tax levies by the amount of the total annual incentive payments and credits.

In current law, if a service member's driver's license expires while they are serving on active duty outside of Colorado, the driver's license expiration date is extended for 3 years or until 90 days after the service member returns to the state. This bill designates the service member's dependents as also subject to the extension of their driver's license expiration date.

The bill establishes new cost-sharing rules for maintaining existing railroad crossings, impacting counties and other local governments. Under the bill, if the road authority responsible for a crossing is not a local government, maintenance costs must be shared equally between the railroad entity and the applicable road authority. The PUC rule will clarify that a county is only responsible for maintaining the portion of a railroad crossing that is outside of the railroad ties, while railroads maintain the track areas.

The bill repeals the retail delivery fee established in SB 21-260. These fees are distributed to several funds and enterprises created by the 2021 legislation, including the Multimodal Mitigation Options Fund and the HUTF.  

The bill modifies CDOT design-build contract criteria, prioritizing long-term sustainability, lifecycle costs, environmental impact, and community benefits. The bill also encourages projects that minimize community disruption and address climate resilience, impacting county-level transportation planning and budgeting.

The bill makes it third degree assault (a class 1 misdemeanor) to: intend to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm a transit worker by causing the transit worker to come into contact with bodily fluids or hazardous materials; or intend to prevent a transit worker from performing a lawful duty and that action causes bodily injury to the transit worker. The bill also makes the Regional Transportation District eligible to receive funds from Proposition 130, a ballot initiative passed in 2024 that provided additional state funding to law enforcement agencies and personnel. 

The bill requires the Department of Transportation (CDOT) to provide transmission developers the best available information on potential future state highway development projects that could impact the placement of a high voltage line within a state highway right-of-way. If CDOT and the transmission developer agree that a site may be suitable for a high voltage line, CDOT must develop a preconstruction plan review schedule, and, upon approval of the requirements in the preconstruction plan, the developer must provide a report on mitigation strategies needed to avoid potential impacts to certain communities. CDOT must approve this report before it issues the developer a permit for the use of a state highway right-of-way. Transmission developers must consider development sites in the following order of priority: existing utility corridors, then state highway rights-of-way, and then new utility corridors. By January 1, 2027, CDOT must update its rules concerning access to state highway rights-of way to accommodate high voltage lines.

The bill creates the Crash Prevention Enterprise to provide funding for transportation system infrastructure improvements that reduce the number of collisions between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users or wildlife. The Transportation Commission serves as the board for the enterprise. Beginning January 1, 2026, the enterprise imposes a crash prevention fee on the policyholder of each automobile insurance policy issued in the state, to be collected by the insurer and remitted to the enterprise. The bill sets the fee at $1.75 through June 30 of 2026, $3.50 for FY 2026-27, and adjusts the fee for inflation in subsequent fiscal years. The Division of Insurance will notify any insurers that fail to collect fees from policyholders of the fee requirement, and may institute an enforcement proceeding and seek civil penalties if an insurer fails to pay their fees within 15 days of receiving a notice. The enterprise may spend up to 80 percent of its funds on grants to eligible entities—including local governments, tribes, and other public or private entities—for eligible projects that reduce collisions between vehicles and vulnerable road users. It may spend up to 20 percent on grants for projects that reduce wildlife collisions while facilitating wildlife migration and movement. Grant must be at least $250,000 and may be used as matching money for federal funds or in combination with other state sources of transportation infrastructure funding. The bill outlines how the enterprise should prioritize awarding grants and what the enterprise must take into consideration.

The bill allows the use of either the most recent version, or a prior version, of the National Geodetic Survey’s state plane coordinate system to state geographic positions or locations within Colorado. The bill does not prohibit use of the Colorado coordinate system of 1927 or 1983.

The bill directs CDOT and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to expand transportation options by boosting mode choice targets—the share of trips made by walking, biking, transit, carpooling, or single-occupancy vehicles. By December 31, 2025, local governments over 5,000 people within MPOs must submit planned transit, bike, and pedestrian projects to their MPOs. They may also adopt mode choice targets, submit demand management strategies, and prioritize projects that increase transportation access and reduce emissions. By July 1, 2026, CDOT and MPOs must create inventories of infrastructure gaps on their respective roadways, informed by local input and cost estimates. These inventories will shape future transportation plans and must be reported to the Transportation Legislation Review Committee by October 31, 2026.

Senate Bill 25-161 proposes comprehensive reforms for Colorado’s Regional Transportation District (RTD), focusing on service expansion, climate goals, and operational transparency. Key provisions include authorizing RTD to form service partnerships with local governments and institutions, developing a 10-year strategic plan and regular operational analyses, increasing public access to service data, enhancing worker retention and safety, and aligning with statewide greenhouse gas reduction targets. It also creates an RTD Accountability Committee and adds nonvoting members to the RTD board.

Senate Bill 25-162 establishes the Office of Rail Safety within the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), granting it exclusive jurisdiction over railroad safety inspections, investigations, and regulatory enforcement statewide. The bill requires railroads operating in Colorado to fund regulatory activities through fees and ensures that the PUC adopts and enforces federal and state railroad safety standards. The PUC is granted sole regulatory authority over railroad safety, preempting any conflicting local regulations and establishing a consistent statewide safety framework.  Railroads must immediately notify local emergency services and the PUC in the event of accidents, hazardous material spills, or other emergencies. The bill outlines detailed requirements for emergency response coordination. Railroad workers are provided civil liability immunity when acting in good faith during emergencies, such as assisting with evacuations or emergency response efforts. Railroads are required to cover the costs of safety inspections, investigations, and regulatory programs through fees assessed by the PUC, ensuring adequate funding for safety oversight Emphasis is placed on preventing and responding to hazardous material incidents, including regular inspections of railcars transporting such materials, emergency response planning, and environmental mitigation efforts.