Colorado Capitol Watch

Login

Welcome Visitor

 
Forgot password?
----------
Subscribe for Current Session

My CCW Tools

Look Up Bills

Look Up Legislators

Legislative Year: 2024 Change
  •  
  •  

Bill Detail: HB24-1463

Return to list of bills

emailSend an email to your legislator

Title Restrictions on Tap Fees
Status Governor Signed (06/05/2024)
Bill Subjects
  • State Government
  • Water
House Sponsors C. deGruy Kennedy (D)
A. Hartsook (R)
Senate Sponsors C. Hansen (D)
B. Kirkmeyer (R)
House Committee Transportation, Housing and Local Government
Senate Committee State, Veterans and Military Affairs
Date Introduced 04/23/2024
Summary

Current law permits the board of a special district (board) to fix
and from time to time to increase or decrease fees for services, programs,
or facilities furnished by the special district (district). The bill specifies
that tap fees and system development fees imposed by the board of a
special district must only be imposed in order to:
  • Assign to developers a portion of the costs associated with
new development or redevelopment;
  • Refrain from imposing costs associated with new
development or redevelopment on existing customers; and
  • Ensure districts have sufficient funding and capacity to
continue to manage and operate their water and sanitation
systems.
The bill requires the board to:
  • Set tap fees and system development fees at a level that is
reasonably related to the anticipated costs of development,
as acknowledged in the Colorado supreme court's decision
in Krupp v. Breckenridge Sanitation Dist., 19 P.3d 687
(Colo. 2001);
  • Consider professional analyses performed for the purpose
of setting tap fees and system development fees when
setting such fees; and
  • Set tap fees and system development fees so that current
customers of the district are not required to subsidize
growth related to new development or redevelopment.
The bill clarifies that:
  • It must not be construed to prohibit the board from securing
sufficient water and sanitation capacity for the district's
existing customers or from complying with the district's
existing water and sanitation service agreements;
  • A district shall not, for reasons unrelated to the district's
capacity to provide water or sanitation services, refuse to
provide water or sanitation services to new development or
redevelopment projects that have been approved by the
relevant land use jurisdiction; and
  • A district must assess the costs of increasing capacity and
purchasing water rights and require developers to bear
those costs, thereby ensuring that service is not denied
arbitrarily and is provided in accordance with the district's
ability to expand capacity or acquire necessary resources.
The bill also permits an applicant for water or sanitation services
to file a declaratory judgment action to determine whether tap fees or
system development fees imposed by the board are reasonably related to
the anticipated costs of development and services as set forth in the bill,
or to file a challenge to the specific fees imposed upon the application
pursuant to rule 106 of the Colorado rules of civil procedure. The bill
requires that a board, within 30 days of receiving a written request from
any local government within the boundaries of which a district operates
or partly operates, provide the rate schedule for the district's tap fees,
system development fees, or other fees and charges that contemplate
future water or sanitation system usage, and, upon request of the local
government, provide the professional analyses and a detailed written
justification of the costs and methodologies used to calculate those fees.

Committee Reports
with Amendments
Full Text
Full Text of Bill (pdf) (most recent)
Fiscal Notes Fiscal Notes (04/29/2024) (most recent)  
Additional Bill Documents Bill Documents
Including:
  • Past bill versions
  • Past fiscal notes
  • Committee activity and documents
  • Bill History
 
Lobbyists Lobbyists
Audio [This feature is available by subscription.]  
Votes House and Senate Votes
Vote Totals Vote Totals by Party
 
 
 
Copyright © 2008-2024 State Capitol Watch