Rep. KC Becker

Retained excess state revenues - public schools, higher education, and roads, bridges, and transit - further allocation. The act is contingent on voters approving a related referred measure to annually retain and spend state revenues in excess of the constitutional spending limit. The act requires 1/3 of this money in the account to be allocated for each of the following purposes: Public schools; Higher education; and Roads, bridges, and transit. The general assembly is required to appropriate the money for public schools and higher education for the state fiscal year after the state retains the revenue under the authority of the voter-approved revenue change. The money appropriated for public schools must be distributed on a per pupil basis and used by public schools only for nonrecurring expenses for the purpose of improving classrooms, and it may not be used as part of a district reserve. The state treasurer is required to transfer the remaining 1/3 of the money to the highway users tax fund (HUTF), and this money is further allocated 60% to the state highway fund, 22% to counties, and 18% to cities and incorporated towns. No more than 85% of the money allocated to the state highway fund may be expended for highway purposes or highway-related capital improvements and at least 15% must be expended for transit purposes or for transit-related capital improvements. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Public utilities commission - continuation under sunset law - distribution system planning - workforce transition planning - clean energy plan - wholesale electric cooperative electric resource plan - vehicle booting regulation - energy impact bonds - rules - appropriation. The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' 2018 sunset review and report on the public utilities commission (commission) by: Authorizing the commission to promulgate rules to delegate routine, administrative transportation matters to staff and clarifying that the commission provides initial review of each case submitted for adjudication and determines whether it wishes to retain the case or to assign it to an administrative law judge or to an individual commissioner; Providing for alternate forms of communication that a public utility may utilize to notify its customers of rate changes, including text message and e-mail, and requiring the public utility to post notice of the rate change on its public website, including a reference to the docket numbers of relevant rules or adjudicatory matters; Transferring the administration of the legal services offset fund from the department of law to the department of regulatory agencies; Making technical changes regarding criminal history record checks and telecommunications; Repealing a requirement that an electric utility, as part of the electric utility's plan for acquisition of renewable resources, purchase a certain amount of energy from community solar gardens in 2011 through 2013, but delaying the repeal until 2043 to keep the legislation in place until contracts entered into pursuant to the requirement have likely all expired; Repealing the requirement that the commission, in considering electric utilities' proposals for generation acquisition, give consideration to proposals to propose, fund, and construct integrated gasification combined cycle generation facilities; and Clarifying that the commission may impose a civil penalty for a violation of railroad crossing safety regulations. The act also: Directs the commission to promulgate rules to require an investor-owned utility to file with the commission, for the commission's approval, a distribution system plan regarding the utility's anticipated distribution system investments; Requires an investor-owned utility, when submitting a filing to the commission that includes a proposed retirement of an electric generating facility, to include in the filing a workforce transition plan that provides estimates of workforce transitions that will occur as a result of retiring the electric generating facility; Directs the commission to conduct an investigation of financial performance-based incentives and performance-based metric tracking to identify mechanisms for aligning utility operations and investments with various public benefit goals, including safety, cost efficiency, and emissions reduction. The commission must report the findings of its investigation to the general assembly 18 months after the act's passage; Requires the commission to open a nonadjudicatory proceeding to conduct a survey of public utility retail rates and to consider recommendations for providing rate relief in geographic areas with retail rates that are materially greater than the state average; Directs the commission to require a wholesale electric cooperative to submit to the commission an application for approval of an integrated or electric resource plan; Declares the rights of retail electric utility customers to generate, consume, store, and export electricity from eligible energy resources through distributed generation; Requires a qualifying retail utility to submit a plan, and allows any other electric utility to voluntarily submit a plan, to the commission as part of its ongoing resource acquisition planning process to seek approval from the commission on how the qualifying retail utility plans to address clean energy targets established in the act. A utility implementing a clean energy plan may recover its cost of implementation through electricity rates, as approved by the commission. Directs the commission to evaluate the cost of carbon dioxide emissions in certain proceedings related to a public utility subject to the commission's jurisdiction and to promulgate rules to require those public utilities, when submitting filings, to include the cost of carbon dioxide emissions related to the evaluation of electric generation resources. Starting in 2020, the commission is required to establish a base cost of carbon dioxide emissions in an amount not less than $46 and shall modify the cost thereafter based on escalation rates established by a federal interagency working group. Authorizes the commission to regulate vehicle booting companies, which are private entities in the business of immobilizing motor vehicles through use of a boot, through issuance of permits and enforcement mechanisms including inspections, imposition of a civil penalty, and revocation of a permit; and Adopts the "Colorado Energy Impact Bond Act", under which electric utilities may finance the retirement of fossil-fuel-powered generation facilities and the transition to renewable energy sources by issuing low-cost corporate securities. The securities are subject to commission approval and required to have a rating of at least AA or Aa2, must have a scheduled maturity date of 32 years or less, and are repayable through electricity rates as part of the costs of implementing a clean energy plan. The act continues the functions of the commission for 7 years, until 2026. $907,566 is appropriated for state fiscal year 2019-20 to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the commission for personal services, operating expenses, and the purchase of legal services. The money is appropriated from the public utilities commission fixed utilities fund. Additionally, $163,820 is appropriated to the department of public health and environment from the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Air pollution - statewide greenhouse gas pollution abatement - air quality control commission - rules - appropriation. Section 1 of the act states that Colorado shall have statewide goals to reduce 2025 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26%, 2030 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%, and 2050 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% of the levels of statewide greenhouse gas emissions that existed in 2005. Section 3 specifies considerations that the air quality control commission is to take into account in implementing policies and promulgating rules to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, including the benefits of compliance and the equitable distribution of those benefits, the costs of compliance, opportunities to incentivize clean energy in transitioning communities, and the potential to enhance the resilience of Colorado's communities and natural resources to climate impacts. The commission will consult with the public utilities commission with regard to rules that affect the providers of retail electricity in Colorado. The commission shall not mandate an electric public utility to reduce its emissions by 2030 more than is required by a clean energy plan filed with the public utilities commission if the plan demonstrates an 80% reduction from 2005 statewide green gas emission levels by 2030. A clean energy plan voluntarily filed by a cooperative electric association that has exempted itself from the public utilities commission's jurisdiction or a municipally owned utility with the public utilities commission is deemed approved if the plan demonstrates an 80% reduction by 2030. $281,588 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public health and environment to implement the act, of which $93,267 is reappropriated to the department of law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

County - county treasurer to serve as public trustee. Public trustees for Class 2 counties (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, Pueblo, and Weld) are currently appointed by the governor. Commencing July 1, 2020, the act specifies that the county treasurer for each Class 2 county will serve as the public trustee for the county. The county treasurer is required to create a transition plan for assuming the new duties of the public trustee. The county treasurer is authorized to consider incorporating staff of the appointed trustee's office, including the prior public trustee, into the treasurer's office.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Just transition support for coal-related jobs - office created - advisory committee - just transition plan - workforce transition plan - report - sunset review - appropriation. The act creates the just transition office in the division of employment and training in the department of labor and employment. A just transition advisory committee will develop a draft just transition plan, and the director of the office will submit a final just transition plan to the governor and general assembly, regarding proposed: Benefits to be given to coal transition workers to enable them to support themselves and their families and to access and complete education and training, resulting in being hired for high-quality jobs; Grants to be awarded to eligible entities in coal transition communities that seek to create a more diversified, equitable, and vibrant economic future for those communities; and Sources of funding. The just transition advisory committee is scheduled for repeal in 2025, subject to sunset review. An electric utility that proposes the accelerated retirement of a coal-fueled electric generating facility shall submit to the office and the affected community a workforce transition plan at least 6 months before the retirement of the facility. The director shall submit a report to the general assembly by January 1, 2024, containing recommended legislative changes to the act. $155,758 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of labor and employment and $920 from the general fund to the general assembly for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

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