The act requires the division of administration in the department of public health and environment (division), no later than July 2029, to propose a final rule (rule) establishing certain limits on the emission of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide (emission limits) from an electric generating unit (unit) that is owned or operated by an electric utility; is located in the state; and emitted 200 tons or more of nitrogen oxides, or sulfur dioxide, or both in calendar year 2024 (covered unit). The rule must require compliance with the emission limits as soon as practicable after December 31, 2034, and must not cover units that, before December 31, 2029, have ceased operations; burn natural gas, fuel oil, or both only; or have certain systems installed. A unit that operates after December 31, 2034, must install certain pollution controls and comply with the emission limits on or before December 31, 2034. An owner or operator of a unit is required to provide quarterly emission reports showing compliance with the rule to the division. On August 1, 2029, the air quality control commission in the department of public health and environment (AQCC) must submit to the general assembly a list of any units that are subject to a federal order. If there are any units subject to a federal order, the AQCC must also submit to the general assembly recommendations on whether to amend the requirements for units subject to federal order. An investor-owned utility or wholesale electric cooperative that is the owner or operator of a unit is required, beginning 150 days after the issuance of a federal order requiring the unit to remain operating after the unit was scheduled to retire (order) and continuing every 90 days until the order is no longer in effect, to file a report with the public utilities commission (commission) that contains certain information about the costs to operate the unit and the amount of electricity generated by the unit. The commission must make these reports publicly available. An investor-owned utility is also permitted to submit an application for a financing order to recover the costs of complying with an order. Any decision by the commission approving or modifying a portfolio in an electric resource plan of an investor-owned utility serving more than 500,000 customers must approve an amount of accredited capacity that allows the investor-owned utility to reliably achieve certain retirement and carbon dioxide emission reduction requirements. This requirement applies to an investor-owned utility serving more than 500,000 customers until the division determines that the investor-owned utility has achieved certain carbon dioxide emission reductions or until the investor-owned utility has retired all covered units, whichever is later.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies' 2025 sunset review and report on the biomass utilization grant program by repealing the biomass utilization grant program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the 'Plastic Pollution Reduction Act' includes restrictions on the use and distribution of single-use plastic carryout bags and expanded polystyrene food containers. The act expands the 'Plastic Pollution Reduction Act' by prohibiting, on and after January 1, 2027, a retail food establishment or third-party food delivery service from providing single-use food serviceware to a customer unless the customer requests single-use food serviceware or confirms that the customer wants single-use food serviceware after being asked if they would like single-use food serviceware. A retail food establishment or third-party food delivery service is only permitted to provide the single-use food serviceware items requested or confirmed by the customer and is prohibited from providing a customer with a bundled package that contains more than one type of single-use food serviceware item. The act specifies certain exceptions and clarifies that a third-party food delivery service is not liable for a retail food establishment's failure to follow a customer's request if the third-party food delivery service accurately communicated the customer's request to the retail food establishment. The department of public health and environment (department) is required to, on or before January 1, 2027, establish a page on the department's public website that includes a description of the requirements set forth in the act and the existing enforcement mechanism included in the 'Plastic Pollution Reduction Act'.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Senate Bill 26-016, enacted in 2026, prohibits a person from disposing of preproduction plastic materials at a location that does not have federal interim status, a federal permit granted pursuant to the federal 'Solid Waste Disposal Act', or a state permit for the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste at a hazardous waste site. The act removes this prohibition and instead prohibits the disposal of preproduction plastic materials at a location that is not a solid wastes disposal site and facility with a certificate of designation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a water right owner that changes the use of their water right in water division 2 from agricultural irrigation purposes to another beneficial use on or after January 1, 2027, to engage in revegetation or a conversion to dryland farming with effective erosion control and weed management on the formerly irrigated agricultural land. The act implements a procedure that includes:The identification of site-specific criteria and an associated scientific and objective evaluation methodology to measure and determine the success of the revegetation or conversion to dryland farming;A requirement that the water court appoint a third-party revegetation or dryland farming expert to conduct annual field reviews and issue reports concerning the success of the revegetation or conversion to dryland farming until the revegetation or conversion is successfully established; andA requirement that the water court:Order the water right owner to provide financial assurance to the local land use authority to cover the anticipated cost to achieve successful revegetation;Place limitations on the timing of use or percentage of the water that may be used for the new beneficial use during the revegetation or conversion to dryland farming process; orIf the water right owner has obtained a permit or entered into an intergovernmental agreement that requires financial assurance or establishes requirements governing the timing of use or percentage of the water that may be used for the new beneficial use, incorporate those requirements into the change-of-use decree.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
HB 1306 creates a special Colorado license plate for vehicles, requiring owners to pay a $50 initial donation to the Wild Horse Fund and a $25 one-time fee to obtain the plate. To renew the plate annually, owners must make an additional $25 donation to the fund. All collected funds support the state’s wild horse population management program, as specified in the bill. This option is available to any Colorado resident who qualifies for standard vehicle registration.
Beginning on January 1, 2027, the act authorizes an optional collision prevention fee (fee), which is collected at the time of registration of a passenger motor vehicle, light-weight truck, motorcycle, or recreational vehicle (motor vehicle). An individual may decline to pay the fee when registering a motor vehicle, and nonpayment of the fee does not affect the individual's ability to register the motor vehicle. In connection with imposing the fee, the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise (enterprise) within the department of transportation (department) is required to collaborate with:The department of revenue and county clerks to develop language to notify individuals about the fee, including explicit language regarding the ability to decline to pay the fee and the fact that nonpayment of the fee will not affect an individual's ability to register a motor vehicle; andThe department of revenue, the department, county clerks, the division of parks and wildlife, and other impacted stakeholders to conduct a public outreach campaign to educate the public about the fee and what benefits the fee will provide. The enterprise is required to initiate the public outreach campaign as soon as practicable and must develop and deliver customer-facing educational materials to county clerks on or before December 1, 2026.The fee amount is set at $5 and, beginning in state fiscal year 2028-29, the enterprise is allowed to adjust this fee amount upward for inflation. 75% of the revenue from the fee is credited to the newly created collision prevention fund (fund), which is continuously appropriated to the enterprise for use in the following ways:To fund wildlife safe passage projects, defined as one or more projects that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity by providing wildlife road crossings;To provide matching money as required by federal grant programs relating to wildlife safe passage projects; To expend for administrative and personnel expenses related to those purposes; andTo promote the fee and fund to maximize participation in the optional fee, in collaboration with the department of revenue, impacted stakeholders, and interested organizations.In determining which wildlife safe passage projects the enterprise will undertake, the enterprise is required to:Consult with the division of parks and wildlife (division) and the Colorado wildlife and transportation alliance;Consult with the tribal government if the project is on or adjacent to tribal land;Consult with relevant local governments with jurisdiction over the area of the proposed project and any relevant local organizations engaging in work to reduce vehicle collisions;Consider studies concerning the prioritization of wildlife within the state;Consider whether the wildlife safe passage project is related to a bridge or tunnel project undertaken by the enterprise; andIn consultation with the division, consider opportunities for landowner agreements or additional conservation efforts that may be necessary to ensure the continued functionality of infrastructure associated with a proposed wildlife safe passage project. 25% of the revenue from the fee is credited to the wildlife cash fund and continuously appropriated to the division to provide services related to wildlife connectivity and wildlife crossing-related conservation efforts. The act also modifies the process for the keep Colorado wild pass fee, which is an existing optional fee paid at the time an individual registers a motor vehicle, to align with the process for the collision prevention fee by removing the presumption that an individual who declines to pay the keep Colorado wild pass fee is presumed to decline to pay that fee in subsequent years with respect to registration of the same motor vehicle. With this change, an individual must affirmatively opt out of the payment of both the keep Colorado wild pass fee and the collision prevention fee each year that the individual registers the motor vehicle. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year:$53,516 is appropriated from the DRIVES cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles; Of funds appropriated from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund to the department of natural resources for use by the division, $778 is reappropriated to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles; and$19,940 is appropriated from the legal services cash fund, from revenue received from the department from the collision prevention fund, to the department of law to provide legal services for the department.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the division of parks and wildlife (division) in the department of natural resources to expand the division's capacity for outdoor recreation coordination, planning, and management and take a leading role in state-level coordination, strategic planning, and implementation of Colorado's outdoors strategy. The division is directed to, among other things, engage with relevant partners, stakeholders, tribal governments, and agencies to coordinate and incorporate wildlife, conservation, recreation, and climate-resilience considerations across agency planning and decision-making processes. In addition, the division is required to support, in consultation with relevant entities, the planning, development, and maintenance of outdoor recreation infrastructure to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities while protecting private property rights, wildlife, and natural resources. The division is directed to coordinate and consult with local governments to identify potential impacts to services and infrastructure associated with outdoor recreation use. The act also requires the division to create, and update at least annually, integrated regional outdoor recreation and conservation planning reports to inform division awareness and operational decision-making. In 2027 and 2028, the division is required to include an update on the outdoor recreation coordination, planning, and management efforts required by the act during its 'SMART Act' hearing. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $436,025 to the department of natural resources from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund to be used for state park operations.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the pesticide product disposal and container recycling enterprise (enterprise) in the department of agriculture (department). The board of directors of the enterprise (board) consists of the members of the state agricultural commission. The enterprise is tasked with developing and administering a program for the disposal of pesticide products not identified as exempt from the program by the board (eligible pesticide products) and with coordinating the recycling of pesticide product containers (program). Along with providing these business services, the program must:Organize eligible pesticide product disposal events for commercial applicators and private applicators across the state;Provide outreach and education to commercial applicators and private applicators on proper and safe disposal of eligible pesticide products and the recycling of their containers and the services provided by the program; andProvide certain business services to an applicant that registers an eligible pesticide product with the commissioner of agriculture for sale or distribution in the state (applicant). The enterprise operates as a government-owned business imposing:A pesticide product disposal fee for each eligible pesticide product that is disposed of through the program; andA pesticide registration product disposal fee on each applicant, which fee must be no more than $50 per eligible pesticide product. The fees are credited to the pesticide product disposal and container recycling enterprise cash fund (fund) for use by the enterprise to carry out the program. Money credited to the fund is continuously appropriated to the enterprise for the purposes set forth in the act. Commencing in 2028, the enterprise must annually report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agricultural matters the following information for the previous 12 months: the amount of fees collected, the total revenue generated by the fees, the location and times of disposal events held, a summary of the amount and types of products disposed of, and a description of education and outreach activities conducted. $19,875 is appropriated from the legal services cash fund to the department of law to provide legal services for the department in implementing the act. The appropriation is from revenue received from the department that is continuously appropriated to the department from the fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act encourages the state forest service, the department of natural resources, the department of personnel, and the department of transportation (covered agency) to prioritize the use of ecoregionally specific plant material that supports pollinator habitats when certain conditions are met. In planning and executing a vegetation project, each covered agency is required to satisfy certain requirements. To the extent practicable, each covered agency shall coordinate with the other covered agencies with regard to purchasing. Each covered agency, subject to available funding, shall establish a training program for relevant staff that includes certain minimum components. On and after January 1, 2028, to the extent practicable, each covered agency shall integrate mowing and grazing based on recommendations included in the 2022 study commissioned by the department of natural resources pursuant to Senate Bill 22-199. The act requires the office of the state architect to support and encourage the development and renovation of sustainable sites to maximize pollinator health on properties within the state capitol complex, other state buildings, and, where applicable, on leased property. The act requires the Colorado state university cooperative extension service (extension) to perform a Colorado native plant availability study (study) in consultation with certain parties. On or before August 1, 2031, the extension shall issue a report summarizing the results of the study. The extension shall make the report publicly available on its website and provide copies of the report to the governor and specified legislative committees of reference. The extension may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations for the purpose of implementing the act. The extension is not required to perform the study or issue a report unless and until the extension acquires sufficient gifts, grants, and donations to pay for the performance of such duties.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
