For state fiscal year 2026-27, the act appropriates $5,000,000 from the species conservation trust fund (trust fund) in the state treasury for various wildlife conservation programs directed at conserving candidate species or species that are likely to become candidate species, as determined by the United States fish and wildlife service. The executive director of the Colorado department of natural resources, after consulting with the Colorado water conservation board, the parks and wildlife commission, and the director of the division of parks and wildlife, has submitted to the general assembly a list of programs and associated costs that are eligible to receive funding from the trust fund as follows:$2,380,000 for the upper Colorado river endangered fish recovery program and San Juan river basin recovery implementation program;$60,000 for Rio Grande native fish protection and habitat improvements;$60,000 for selenium management, research, monitoring, evaluation, and control;$1,250,000 for native terrestrial wildlife conservation; and$1,250,000 for native aquatic wildlife conservation. Trust fund money made available for native terrestrial wildlife conservation is not available for purposes of importing new wolves for reintroduction into the state for state fiscal year 2026-27.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act appropriates the following amounts for the 2026-27 state fiscal year from the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) construction fund to the CWCB or the division of water resources in the department of natural resources for the following projects:Continuation of the satellite monitoring system, $380,000 (section 1 of the act);Continuation of the floodplain map modernization program, $500,000 (section 2);Continuation of the weather modification permitting program, $500,000 (section 3);Continuation of the Colorado Mesonet project, $200,000 (section 5);Continuation of the water forecasting partnership project, $2,500,000 (section 6);Continuation of Colorado decision support system operation and maintenance, $750,000 (section 7);Support for water plan agency actions, $1,350,000 (section 9);Continuation of the Colorado watershed restoration and flood mitigation projects, $5,000,000 (section 10); andContinuation of the upper Colorado river commission planning, $750,000 (section 11). Section 4 directs the state treasurer to transfer up to $6,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the CWCB litigation fund on or before July 1, 2026. Section 8 restores the fish and wildlife resources fund balance by transferring $2,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the fish and wildlife resources fund. Section 12 authorizes the CWCB to make a loan in an amount of $151,500,000 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the city of Fort Collins to support the Halligan water supply project. Section 13 authorizes the CWCB to make a loan in an amount of $20,166,670 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the Lower Latham Reservoir Company for the Jurgens reservoir construction project. Section 14 appropriates $37,700,000 from the water plan implementation cash fund to the CWCB to award grants that will help implement the state water plan. Section 15 clarifies that the money that is currently in the turf replacement fund is appropriated for designated purposes to the CWCB until June 30, 2028. Any money remaining in the turf replacement fund on July 1, 2028, is transferred to the CWCB construction fund. Section 16 makes technical corrections so that money appropriated in 2025 is available to the department of natural resources executive director's office for the purpose of paying for a study by the Colorado water center at Colorado state university. Under current law, the CWCB may authorize loans up to $10 million from the CWCB construction fund or severance tax perpetual base fund without legislative authorization. The act increases that amount to $30 million (section 17).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) is a nonprofit institution with experience administering clean energy financing programs and is the designated green bank for the federal environmental protection agency's region 8. The CCEF administers an on-bill repayment program (program) to help finance certain energy-related upgrades installed at a utility customer's premises that are associated with the utility meter. Under the program, in partnership with Colorado-based utilities, the CCEF finances energy-related upgrades that are then repaid through a customer's monthly utility bill payments. The bill directs the state treasurer to, on August 15, 2026, execute a loan agreement with the CCEF for a low-interest loan of $50 million from the unclaimed property trust fund.The purpose of the loan is to capitalize and expand the CCEF's on-bill repayment program and to accelerate utility adoption of the program. The Colorado energy office is required to review the design of the program before August 1, 2026. The bill specifies certain requirements for the program and for a utility to access the funding for the program, including requirements related to disclosures, notices, transfers of responsibility for an on-bill repayment obligation, and interest rates. The CCEF is required to submit annual reports to the joint budget committee, the Colorado energy office, and the state treasurer detailing the deployment of the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act authorizes the clean fleet enterprise (enterprise) to incentivize, support, and accelerate the replacement of a truck that is part of a fleet and that is powered by a diesel-fueled internal combustion engine, is a model year of 2009 or earlier, and is registered, operable, and capable of independent roadway operation (aging diesel truck) with a diesel truck that is a model year of 2018 or later (new diesel truck) until December 31, 2031. The act also allows the enterprise to provide funding or financing through grant programs, rebate programs, revolving loan funds, or other strategies to help owners and operators of aging diesel truck fleets finance the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks to reduce the up-front costs of acquiring new diesel trucks until December 31, 2031. The enterprise may use the clean fleet enterprise fund to provide money to support the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks, but the enterprise is required to ensure that it does not expend more than 20% of the fund's income during a state fiscal year for the support. To qualify for any money provided by the enterprise for the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks, the act requires a purchaser of the new diesel truck to surrender an aging diesel truck to the seller of the new truck. The seller of the new diesel truck must decommission the aging diesel truck by drilling a hole in the engine's block and cutting the chassis rails in half. The seller must be an authorized dealer of new diesel trucks who must certify that the new diesel truck meets all state and federal emissions and safety standards for its model year. The enterprise must prioritize applications to replace aging diesel trucks from businesses that are privately owned, independently owned, or have limited access to capital. The enterprise is not allowed to accept an application from the owner or operator of a motor vehicle fleet that owns, leases, or operates more than 50 heavy-duty motor vehicles or from a business entity with annual gross revenue exceeding $100 million. The enterprise is required to prioritize the replacement of an aging diesel truck that has a model year of no later than 2006. The act expands the business purpose of the enterprise to include providing incentives and support for refrigerated transport units powered by zero emission technology. The act allows the enterprise to exercise its rights and powers without regard to the state 'Procurement Code'. The act requires the enterprise to annually prepare a report that includes the estimated pollution reduction benefits of the enterprise. The enterprise must seek to ensure that all projects funded by the enterprise achieve measurable results and outcomes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act broadens the definition of 'ranch' for purposes of property taxation to mean a parcel of land that is predominantly used for grazing livestock for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit. A ranch must operate through a pasture-based operation, which is newly defined as a method of livestock management where pasture-grazed livestock have regular access to open pasture and derive a majority of their diet through grazing. The act also broadens the definition of 'farm' for purposes of property taxation to mirror the predominant use language in the definition of 'ranch'. With this change, a farm means a parcel of land that is predominantly used to produce agricultural products that originate from the land's productivity for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
