Section 1 of the act authorizes the public utilities commission (PUC) to approve utilities' applications to build new transmission facilities if the PUC, consistent with its authority, finds that the new facilities would assist the utilities in meeting the state's clean energy goals established in 2019. In constructing or expanding transmission facilities, a utility must use its own employees, engage a contractor whose employees have access to federally approved apprenticeship programs, or both. Section 1 also requires the PUC to consider the ability of the proposed facilities to support future expansion as needed to enable the utility to participate in an organized wholesale market (OWM), which is defined in section 2 as an organization established for the purpose of coordinating and managing the transmission of electricity among multiple public utilities on a multistate or regional basis. An application for construction or expansion of transmission facilities is deemed approved if the PUC does not deny it within 240 days after the application is complete and public notice has been given.Section 6 imposes a 180-day deadline for approval by a local government if local government approval is required.Sections 4 and 7 create the Colorado electric transmission authority (CETA) as an independent special purpose authority, and section 4 specifies the composition and manner of appointment of the board of directors that governs the authority. CETA is authorized to select a qualified transmission operator to finance, plan, acquire, maintain, and operate eligible electric transmission and interconnected storage facilities (eligible facilities).Under sections 4, 8, and 9, CETA is granted various powers necessary to accomplish its purposes, including the power to:Issue revenue bonds; Identify and establish intrastate electric transmission corridors; Coordinate with other entities to establish interstate electric transmission corridors; Exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire eligible facilities; and Collect payments of reasonable rates, fees, interest, or other charges from persons using eligible facilities. CETA is generally subject to state open-records and open-meetings requirements, but proprietary confidential information that it holds, including power purchase agreements, costs of production, costs of transmission, transmission service agreements, credit reviews, detailed power models, and financing statements, is not subject to inspection. Section 10 authorizes payment of CETA's administrative expenses, not to exceed $500,000 annually, from an existing cash fund administered by the PUC.Section 2 sets out deadlines and conditions under which an electric utility that owns and controls transmission facilities (transmission utility) is required to join an OWM. The commission may delay or waive this requirement for a utility that is unable, despite its best efforts, to find a viable and available OWM to join or if the commission determines, based on its evaluation of specified factors, that requiring the transmission utility to join an OWM would not be in the public interest. A transmission utility that joins an OWM may recover costs of participating in the OWN from its ratepayers.Under current law, a cooperative electric association with an electric easement on real property is authorized to install or to allow a commercial broadband supplier to install broadband facilities on the real property, subject to notice and procedural requirements. Section 3 expands the authorization to apply to any non-investor-owned, non-municipally-owned, vertically integrated supplier of electric energy to its customers or members.Section 9 specifies that when a right-of-way is taken for an interstate electric transmission line, the court shall evaluate public purpose in light of the transmission system as a whole, including public use and benefits occurring either within Colorado or at a regional level.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
Current law defines as a "covered facility" a stationary source of air pollutants that reported in its federal toxics release inventory filing at least one of the following amounts of the following "covered air toxics" in one year:For hydrogen cyanide, 10,000 pounds; For hydrogen sulfide, 5,000 pounds; and For benzene, 5,000 pounds. The act changes the definition of "covered facility" to include specific listed North American industry classification system codes and expands upon the requirements applicable to covered facilities by:Directing the air quality control commission to consider, at least every 5 years, adding new types of covered facilities and covered air toxics; Requiring that a covered facility's outreach to communities near the covered facility be conducted in the 2 most prevalent languages spoken in the communities; and Requiring covered facilities to conduct real-time fenceline monitoring of covered air toxics and to publicly report the results of the monitoring. The act also requires the division of administration in the department of public health and environment to:Establish notification thresholds for covered air toxics, the exceedance of which covered facilities must disclose to the affected community; and Conduct community-based monitoring of covered air toxics in areas near covered facilities and to publicly report the results, and authorizes the division to spend up to $800,000 from the general fund to buy a mobile air-quality monitoring van to use for community-based monitoring. The act appropriates $480,939 from the stationary sources control fund to the department of public health and environment to implement the act, of which $12,761 is reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services to the department of public health and environment and $283,896 is reappropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology for the provision of information technology services for the department of public health and environment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law imposes a limitation on the permit, application review, or any other related or associated fees that may be assessed by counties, municipalities, state agencies, and political subdivisions of the state for the installation of an active solar electric or solar thermal device or system. The act modifies this language so that the limitation applies to the aggregate of all charges or other related or associated fees the state, a county, municipality, state agency, or any other political subdivision of the state (governmental bodies) imposes or assesses for the installation of an active solar energy system.The act sets a limit on the aggregate of all charges or other related or associated fees any governmental body may impose or assess to install an active solar energy system of $500 for a residential permit and $1,000 for a commercial permit. In the case of a nonresidential application, on an individual installation basis only, if the governmental body incurs actual costs for issuing the permit that are greater than $1,000, the governmental body is entitled to recovery of its actual costs for issuing the permit by submitting in writing and disclosing to the applicant for the particular permit proof of the governmental body's actual costs.In connection with existing statutory requirements affecting state agencies and political subdivisions, the act clarifies that the duty to clearly and individually identify all fees and taxes assessed on an application on the invoice lies with the state or any agency, institution, authority, or political subdivision of the state.Under existing law, one component of determining the lawful fee for issuing a permit or reviewing an application requires a comparison of the lesser of the actual costs of providing such services or $500 for a residential application. The act restricts a governmental body from increasing its fees or other charges by more than 5% on an annual basis until the $500 limitation is achieved.The act also extends the repeal date of the fee limitation from July 1, 2025, to December 31, 2029.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act requires owners of certain large buildings (covered buildings), on an annual basis, to collect and report to the Colorado energy office (office) the covered building's energy use. The act establishes a process requiring certain electric and gas utilities to provide energy-use data to a covered building owner when requested by the covered building owner.On or before October 1, 2021, the director of the office is required to appoint and convene a task force consisting of various building owners, building professionals, utility representatives, and local government representatives to recommend performance standards for adoption as rules by the air quality control commission (commission). The performance standards set forth in rule would need to achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 7% by 2026 compared to 2021 levels as reported in energy benchmarking data and by 20% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels. The performance standards adopted must include a provision that an owner of a public building need only comply with the performance standards with regard to certain types of construction or renovation projects and only if the construction or renovation project has an estimated cost of at least $500,000. Covered building owners would then need to demonstrate their compliance with the performance standards set forth in the commission's rules. The commission is also required to adopt rules regarding the issuance of waivers and extensions of time for performance standard compliance. The commission may adopt additional rules, as the commission deems necessary, to modify or continue the performance standards.Section 2 authorizes the office to use the energy fund to help finance its work to administer the benchmarking and performance standard program described in section 1 (program).Section 3 requires the office to administer the program and assist covered building owners with the reporting requirements set forth in section 1 by:Creating a database of covered buildings and owners required to comply with section 1; Tracking compliance with the program and providing a list of noncompliant owners of covered buildings to the division of administration in the department of public health and environment; Developing publicly available, digitally interactive maps and lists showing the energy-use and performance-standard data reported; Coordinating with any local government that implements its own energy benchmarking requirements or energy performance program, including coordination of reporting requirements; and Collecting an annual fee from owners of covered buildings of $100 per covered building; except that owners of public buildings are exempt from paying the fee. The office is required to transfer the fees collected to the state treasurer, who will credit the fees to the climate change mitigation and adaptation fund (fund) created in section 3. Section 4 imposes penalties for violations of the benchmarking requirements in amounts up to $500 for a first violation and up to $2,000 for each subsequent violation. The commission is required to establish by rule civil penalties for a violation of the commission's performance standards in an amount not to exceed $2,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for a subsequent violation.Section 5 modifies the definition of an "energy performance contract" that a governing body of a municipality, county, special district, or school district (board) enters into for evaluation, recommendations, or implementation of energy saving measures to remove requirements that a board's payment for goods and services pursuant to the contract be made within a certain number of years of the contract's execution.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows a medical marijuana cultivation facility licensee to receive and change marijuana's designation from retail to medical and a medical marijuana products manufacturer licensee to receive and change a marijuana product from retail to medical.The act clarifies that a transfer and change of designation of the marijuana from retail to medical does not create a right to a refund of a retail marijuana excise tax imposed or paid prior to the transfer and change of designation.The act requires the state licensing authority to submit a report to the general assembly analyzing the feasibility of allowing a retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee to receive and change marijuana's designation from medical to retail and a retail marijuana products manufacturer licensee to receive and change a marijuana product from medical to retail.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act declares that customer-sited renewable energy generation facilities (distributed generation) such as rooftop solar can make important contributions toward meeting Colorado's declared goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while providing a reliable, adaptable supply of electricity for homes, businesses, and the rapidly increasing numbers of electric vehicles, and that existing limits on customer-sited renewable energy generation facilities unnecessarily restrict this potential.Sections 3 and 5 remove most of the existing limitations on the size of distributed generation facilities, which currently cannot exceed 120% of a customer's historical annual usage, to qualify for renewable energy credits. Section 3 also expands an existing exemption from regulation as a public utility to include persons who sell excess power from distributed generation located anywhere on their property or on property owned or leased by others in a master meter operation, e.g., an apartment building or mobile home park. Section 4 grants master meter operators (MMOs) that sell power from distributed generation a limited exemption from the general requirement not to charge their end users any amount above what they are billed for electricity supplied by the serving electric utility. MMOs may retain refunds, rebates, rate reductions, net metering credits, and similar reductions offered by the serving utility in its net metering program. The public utilities commission (PUC) is directed to adopt rules encouraging landlords and tenants in multi-unit buildings to share in the costs and benefits of installing new distributed generation facilities.Section 5 requires a qualifying retail utility to allow, and to adopt standards for the approval of, customer-owned meter collar adapters in residential installations. The PUC retains authority to resolve any disputes concerning the standards or their application in specific cases. Section 2 defines a meter collar adapter as a device installed between the electric meter and the meter socket box that allows the customer to interconnect power from on-site sources.Section 5 also:Replaces the term "standard rebate offer" with "net metering service" where appropriate, to more accurately reflect current practice; Requires qualifying retail utilities, under their net metering service, to purchase energy produced from any renewable energy resources rather than exclusively solar energy resources; Doubles the size of eligible on-site renewable energy installations from 500 kilowatts to one megawatt; Limits the size of eligible off-site renewable energy installations to 500 kilowatts for a single-meter installation or 300 kilowatts per meter for a multi-meter installation; Narrows the requirements for small hydroelectric facilities that qualify as renewable energy resources to exclude those that require the construction of new dams or reservoirs; Adds renewable energy storage as an eligible energy resource under the renewable energy standard and defines "renewable energy storage" as a facility that stores energy that is derived only from renewable energy resources; Allows a customer to carry forward monthly bill credits from distributed generation indefinitely, at any service address within a qualifying retail utility's service territory, unless the customer chooses to be reimbursed annually or to donate the excess to a low-income energy assistance program; and Directs the PUC to adopt rules to accommodate the aggregation and interconnection of retail distributed generation, including the pooling of renewable energy resources under a master meter or similar arrangement and the allocation of credits among customers on different rate schedules. Section 6 appropriates $91,488 to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the PUC to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the public utilities commission (PUC) to establish energy savings targets and approve plans under which investor-owned electric utilities will promote the use of energy-efficient electric equipment in place of less efficient fossil-fuel-based systems. This directive would substantially follow the model of existing demand-side management (DSM) policies established by the PUC.Section 1 of the act declares that DSM has provided substantial economic and environmental benefits, and the PUC's administration of DSM has successfully carried out legislative intent; therefore, the PUC is directed to implement beneficial electrification programs and plans using the same approach.Sections 3 and 5 specify the parameters for these programs and plans, including the types of systems and appliances that are eligible for installation, the criteria to be considered when the PUC evaluates plan proposals, the implementation of plans, utility cost-recovery mechanisms, and performance incentives. Section 5 also requires that any installation, upgrade, or new construction under a beneficial electrification program must be performed either by utility employees or by qualified, Colorado-licensed contractors. For large projects, contractors must be selected from a list, maintained by the Colorado department of labor and employment, of contractors that participate in apprenticeship programs registered with the United States department of labor.Section 2 adds heat pumps to the list of energy efficiency measures that cannot be prohibited under the covenants of a homeowners' association.Section 4 directs the PUC to apply current standards for measurement of the social cost of carbon emissions, including methane, in evaluating the cost, benefit, or net present value of utility plans and proposals for beneficial electrification.The act appropriates $168,448 to the department of regulatory agencies, for use by the PUC, and $73,351 to the department of labor and employment, for use by the division of employment and training, to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the state treasurer to make an immediate, one-time transfer of $40 million from the general fund to the energy fund administered by the Colorado energy office (CEO). The CEO may use the money for its ongoing programs plus the following enumerated purposes:Making grants to the Colorado Clean Energy Fund and the Colorado new energy improvement district totaling up to $30 million and $3 million, respectively; Increasing the amounts available through residential energy upgrade loans by up to $2 million; and Providing up to $5 million in additional funding to the charge ahead Colorado program administered by the CEO. The act requires the CEO to devote at least 75% of the transferred money to the specified purposes by July 1, 2022, and at least 85% by July 1, 2023, and to periodically report on its expenditures to the office of state planning and budgeting and the general assembly. Although money in the energy fund is continuously appropriated to the CEO, the money transferred by the act is scheduled to revert to the general fund on June 30, 2025, if not used, expended, or obligated by then.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
As part of the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (federal act), the state will receive $3,828,761,790, and $380 million of that money will be used for transportation infrastructure. The act creates the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund (fund) and requires the state treasurer to deposit $3,448,761,790, which is the balance of the federal funds after the transportation infrastructure use, in the fund.The general assembly may transfer money from the fund to another cash fund that is established for the purpose of using the money from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund, and the act establishes requirements for this type of cash fund or one that includes any subsequent transfers or appropriations (recipient fund). If there is any money remaining in the fund after the legislatively authorized transfers during the 2021 legislative session, then the governor is authorized to allocate up to $300 million for the purposes permitted under the federal act, and the money is continuously appropriated to the departments the governor designates.In order to ensure proper accounting for and compliance with the federal act, if a recipient fund has money from other sources, then the state controller shall establish an identical, companion fund that only includes the federal funds from the federal act.Money in the fund or a recipient fund must be expended or obligated by December 31, 2024, and any money obligated by December 31, 2024, must be expended by December 31, 2026. The state treasurer is required to transfer the unused and unobligated amounts in the fund as of December 31, 2024, to the unemployment compensation fund. A department is prohibited from using any money from the fund or a recipient fund for any purpose prohibited under the federal act, and transfers from the fund to the general fund are prohibited.The state controller is required to provide the secretary of the treasury of the United States with the periodic reports about the state's use of the money from the fund or a recipient fund. Departments and persons receiving money from departments are required to comply with any reporting record-keeping requirements established by the state controller and the office of state planning and budgeting (office) and with any program evaluation requirements established by the office. The office is required to provide the joint budget committee with a yearly performance report, which includes the information the state controller provides to the secretary.The act also modifies existing federal funds reporting requirements so that, like the reporting on the money from the recipient funds, the joint budget committee receives annual reports instead of quarterly reports. In addition, the state controller is required to make the reports instead of the office, and the information required to be submitted is modified.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires that family child care homes be classified as residences for purposes of licensure and local regulations, including zoning, land use development, fire and life safety, and building codes. The act also adds a provision stating that whenever the state department of human services reviews and rewrites its rules concerning child care agencies or facilities, it shall seek advice from the department of public safety when such rules relate to specific types of child care agencies or facilities.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)