| Summary |
The bill creates the state park and wildlife area access grant
program (program), which reimburses local governments for access route
maintenance, construction, service, and operational work resulting from
people visiting state parks and wildlife areas. The program is
administered by the division of parks and wildlife (division) and the parks
and wildlife commission (commission). In connection with the program,
the bill:
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Using overflow money from the keep Colorado wild pass,
helps finance local governments' maintenance and
operation of access routes. A local government must use
the grant money to support direct access to state parks and
wildlife areas. Supporting direct access may include
maintaining and constructing local roads, bicycle lanes, or
other recreational access routes or providing or facilitating
shuttle operations.
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Requires the commission to promulgate rules, in
collaboration with and after consultation with affected local
governments, to establish the process for local governments
to apply for grants, the criteria for awarding grants, and the
criteria for determining the amount of grant money to be
awarded;
•
Creates a grant review committee (committee) to make
recommendations to the division; and
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Authorizes a local government to request that the state park
or wildlife area charge an additional per vehicle fee, not to
exceed $2, to visit. Upon the request, the commission may
establish the fee, which will be transferred to the local
government to maintain and operate access routes. The fee
will be adjusted every 5 years for inflation or deflation.
The grant review committee consists of the following 5 members:
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3 representatives of local governments from different
geographic areas of Colorado, one of whom must be a
county commissioner;
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One representative of the commission; and
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One representative of the division.
The members of the committee serve without additional compensation
from the state. The committee will review grant applications and make
recommendations to the division. The committee is repealed on
September 1, 2032, but before the repeal, the department of regulatory
agencies will review the committee in accordance with the sunset process.
On or before November 1, 2025, and on or before November 1 of
each subsequent year, the division will report about the implementation
of the bill to a joint session of the house of representatives agriculture,
water, and natural resources committee and the senate agriculture and
natural resources committee. The report must include a list of local
governments and access projects that received grants and the amount of
grant money that each local government and access project received.
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