Bill Tracker

Removes requirement that Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR) board meet annually with Transportation Commission and Regional Transportation District (RTD) and instead requires that the board file an annual report.  Establishes that the board exercises its powers by a majority vote of a quorum of its voting directors rather than a majority vote of the total membership.

CCI Priority

HB 1143 increases the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project maintenance cap by $50,000 and adds an annual inflationary adjustment.  These changes will allow CDOT to conduct more road maintenance projects – especially in rural areas of the state.

CCI has prepared a fact sheet on the bill.  https://ccionline.org/download/FACT-SHEET-Increasing-CDOT-Maintenance-Project-Cap-002.pdf

The High-Cost Support Mechanism, a surcharge on phone users that is used to fund broadband to unserved/underserved areas, is set to expire this year.  HB 1234 removes the surcharge sunset in statute.

HB 1235 is an attempt to reduce the use of leaded gasoline at airports through the creation of a tax credit for airplane owners and prioritization of Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) aviation grants toward airports that are attempting to reduce leaded gasoline use.  The bill also adds two members to the State Aeronautical Board to represent communities impacted by airport noise.  Finally, the bill directs CDOT to install noise monitoring equipment and periodically test citizens for lead.

There were concerns with the introduced bill because it could have made smaller county airports ineligible for state aviation grants.  A strike-below amendment was put on the bill in committee that addressed these concerns.  The strike-below makes a portion of the state aviation grant program available to urban/suburban airports to work on transitioning to unleaded fuel. 

CCI Priority

 HB 1266 provides more transparency and accountability in the utility relocation process.  The bill establishes a clearance letter process for utility relocation in a county right-of-way and ensures that investor-owned utilities are responsible for any costs incurred by the county because of unnecessary delays.  The bill also features an opt-out provision in case a local government wants to use an alternative process for utility relocation.

CCI Fact Sheet:  https://ccionline.org/download/FACT-SHEET-HB24-1266-Utility-Relocation-in-County-ROW.pdf

The bill guarantees access by broadband providers to mobile home parks and multiunit buildings in order to increase Internet access for tenants.  The bill requires that the provider notify the owner before coming on the property and that the provider must comply with all state and federal laws and local ordinances.

The Broadband Deployment Board, which is tasked with reviewing and awarding grants to broadband providers, is set to sunset this year.  HB 1336 would move this granting authority to the Governor’s Broadband Office.  The bill would also utilize an existing advisory group to make recommendations the Broadband Office on grant funding.  This advisory group must include local government representation.  Finally, the bill would allow for middle mile broadband grants to be made from High Cost Support Mechanism (HCSM).  Currently these dollars are used for last mile grants only.

CCI supports the repurposing of HCSM funds for middle mile grants.  The advisory group that would review grant proposals currently has a county commissioner as a member and an amendment that was added guarantees local government representation on the advisory group going forward.  

HB 1447 would have modified the composition of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) board of directors by reducing the overall number of members and adding ex officio municipal and county representatives. The bill also would have required Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to implement a bus driver training program and required transit providers to coordinate with metropolitan planning organizations on certain planning matters.

SB 36 would have created a new enterprise within Colorado Department of Transportaiton (CDOT) to provide grants to local governments for safety improvement for pedestrian and bike travel.  Monies for the grant program would have been generated by an annual fee (ranging from $3 to $29 dollars, depending on vehicle weight) on vehicles that weigh more than 3,500 lbs.  The fees would only be assessed in the twelve most populous counties, and the grants would only be available to local governments in those counties.  The bill exempted commercial and agricultural vehicles from the fees. 

Counties were concerned about the creation of another enterprise within CDOT and the imposition of additional fees.  

CCI Priority

 SB 91 would have prohibited Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) from charging annual fees for access to state right-of-way (ROW) to help deploy broadband to unserved and underserved areas of the state.  The bill also required CDOT to expedite access permits and prohibited CDOT from requiring any in-kind goods or services as a condition of granting access to the CDOT ROW. 

The current annual fees adopted by the Transportation Commission will add tens of thousands of dollars annually to rural broadband projects, making many of these projects infeasible.

CCI has prepared a fact sheet on the bill. https://ccionline.org/download/FACT-SHEET-SB24-91-CDOT-Fee-Schedule-for-Broadband.pdf 

SB 147 would have allowed telecommunications providers to replace equipment deemed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as requiring replacement because of the country of origin (in most cases China) without having to go through a local permitting process.  Providers would have been required to notify local governments of the planned replacement work.

SB 151 allows telecommunications providers to replace equipment deemed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as requiring replacement because of the country of origin (in most cases China) without having to go through a local permitting process.  Providers are required to notify local governments of the planned replacement work and the replacement equipment must be substantially similar in size to the equipment currently in place.  The bill also requires the Public Utilities Commission to promulgate rules for the replacement of this banned equipment and establish a registration process to allow telecommunications providers to certify that they have successfully replaced the banned equipment.

The bill was amended in the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee to exempt municipal-owned utilities and requires seven-day advance notice to a local government of scheduled replacement if the work is being conducted in a public right-of-way. 

SB 184 allows Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE) to levy a new congestion impact fee on rental cars (both combustion engine and electric) in order to generate funding which could be used to match federal rail grant dollars.   The bill intends to prioritize these rail dollars for 1) Front Range Passenger Rail Service from Ft. Collins to Pueblo and Trinidad; 2) Service from Denver to Steamboat Springs, Craig, and Hayden; and 3) Expanding Bustang on key routes like I-70 and determining future additional service areas.  The bill also requires Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO) to develop a new multimodal strategic capital plan that aligns with CDOT’s ten-year plan, statewide transit plans, HB 1261 goals, and other Green House Gas reduction priorities.

Counties were seeking a number of amendments to the legislation, including assurances that tolls will stay within the corridors in which they were generated.  There were also concerns about toll revenues being repurposed for rail, a more expansive definition of multimodal and a desire to see additional Bustang service in more rural areas of the state.  The bill was amended to address several of CCI’s concerns.  

SB 195 would clarify the authority of Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to coordinate with local governments on the operation of Automated Vehicle Identification Systems (AVIS) on state highways.  It also allows CDOT to operate their own AVIS on state corridors and directs that revenues from resulting fines shall be used for transportation improvements that protect vulnerable road users (typically pedestrians and cyclists).  The bill also directs CDOT to use a portion of its FASTER fees for these safety improvements.

Commissioners were seeking amendments that ensure greater transparency and that revenues from fines stay within the region they were generated.  CCI was also seeking an amendment to require that FASTER revenues be used for highway construction, not pedestrian and bike safety projects.