SB21-260 BILL SUMMARY
Sustainability Of The Transportation System
Concerning the sustainability of the transportation system in Colorado, and, in connection therewith, creating new sources of dedicated funding and new state enterprises to preserve, improve, and expand existing transportation infrastructure, develop the modernized infrastructure needed to support the widespread adoption of electric motor vehicles, and mitigate environmental and health impacts of transportation system use; expanding authority for regional transportation improvements; and making an appropriation.
BILL SUMMARY
The act creates new sources of dedicated funding and new state enterprises to enable the planning, funding, development, construction, maintenance, and supervision of a sustainable transportation system by preserving, improving, and expanding existing transportation infrastructure, developing the modern infrastructure needed to support the widespread adoption of electric motor vehicles, and mitigating adverse environmental and health impacts of transportation system use as follows:
● Section 6 of the act creates the community access enterprise within the Colorado energy office (CEO) for the purpose of supporting the widespread and equitable adoption of electric motor vehicles and electric alternatives to motor vehicles in an equitable manner. The community access enterprise is authorized to impose a community access retail delivery fee to fund its business purpose. The governance and powers and duties of the community access enterprise are specified.
● Section 7 transfers money from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund (FCSFRF) and the general fund as follows:
● From the FCSFRF on June 30, 2021:
● $182,160,000 to the state highway fund (SHF), $22,160,000 of which is dedicated to the revitalizing main streets program of the department of transportation (CDOT) and $500,000 of which is dedicated to acquire, plan the development of, or develop the Burnham Yard rail property in Denver;
● $161,340,000 to the multimodal transportation and mitigation options fund (MTMOF); and
● $36,500,000 to the highway users tax fund (HUTF).
● From the general fund on July 1, 2021, $170,000,000 to the SHF;
● From the general fund on each July 1 from July 1, 2024, through July 1, 2031:
● $10,500,000 to the MTMOF; and
● $7,000,000 to the SHF for the revitalizing main streets program;
● From the general fund on each July 1 from July 1, 2024, through July 1, 2028, $100,000,000 to the SHF, with $10,000,000 of each transfer required to be spent by CDOT solely to mitigate the environmental and health impacts of increased air pollution from motor vehicle emissions in nonattainment areas by funding projects that reduce vehicle miles traveled or that directly reduce air pollution;
● From the general fund on each July 1 from July 1, 2029, through July 1, 2031, $82,500,000 to the SHF; and
● From the general fund on June 30, 2022, and, to the extent necessary, on each June 30 thereafter through June 30, 2026, until a total amount of $115,000,000 has been transferred, the lesser of 50% of all additional revenue retained by the state due to the restoration of the excess state revenues cap (Referendum C cap) by section 8 or $115,000,000.
● Section 8 restores the Referendum C cap, which the general assembly reduced in 2017, to its maximum voter-approved level.
● Section 11 creates the clean fleet enterprise within the department of public health and environment (CDPHE) for the business purpose of incentivizing and supporting the use of electric motor vehicles and other clean fleet technologies by owners and operators of motor vehicle fleets. The clean fleet enterprise is authorized to impose a clean fleet retail delivery fee to be paid by the purchaser of tangible personal property delivered to the purchaser by motor vehicle and a clean fleet per ride fee to be paid by a transportation network company (TNC) on each ride offered and accepted by the TNC to fund the clean fleet enterprise's business purpose. The governance and powers and duties of the clean fleet enterprise are specified.
● Section 25 requires the department of revenue (DOR) to collect the per ride fees imposed by the clean fleet enterprise and the nonattainment area air pollution mitigation enterprise as authorized by sections 11 and 52. Both fees are first imposed for rides offered and accepted in state fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 and are annually adjusted for consumer price index (CPI) inflation thereafter.
● Section 26 indexes the existing $50 registration fee imposed on electric motor vehicles to national highway construction cost index (NHCCI) inflation and imposes additional electric motor vehicle road usage equalization fees on battery electric motor vehicles at a specified level and on plug-in hybrid electric motor vehicles at a lower level, with both additional fees being phased in on a set schedule from state FYs 2022-23 through 2031-32 and thereafter indexed to NHCCI inflation. Section 26 also imposes a commercial electric motor vehicle fee. The increase and new fee revenue is credited to the HUTF for allocation to the state, counties, and municipalities; except that 40% of the revenue generated by inflation indexing of the existing $50 registration fee is credited to the electric vehicle grant fund and 30% of the revenue generated by the commercial electric motor vehicle fee is credited to the SHF for freight-related projects. In 2026, specified executive agencies must jointly review the fees and make recommendations to the transportation legislation review committee of the general assembly as to whether the fees should be adjusted or whether fees should also be imposed on hydrogen fuel cell motor vehicles to ensure continued equalization of the average aggregate amount of registration fees and motor fuel charges annually paid by owners of electric motor vehicles and owners of motor vehicles powered exclusively by internal combustion engines.
● Section 35 imposes road usage fees on gasoline and diesel purchases that are phased in from state FYs 2022-23 through 2031-32 and thereafter indexed to NHCCI inflation, with the road usage fees also being adjusted beginning in state FY 2032-33 in a manner calculated to generate the same amount of additional revenue as would be generated by indexing the existing state excise taxes imposed on gasoline and diesel to construction cost inflation. The fee revenue is credited to the HUTF for allocation to the state, counties, and municipalities.
● Section 35 also imposes a retail delivery fee on retail deliveries by motor vehicle that include tangible personal property subject to the state sales tax, requires the fee to be collected from the purchaser by the retailer, and requires simultaneous collection of community access, clean fleet, bridge and tunnel, clean transit, and air pollution mitigation retail delivery fees imposed, respectively, by the community access, clean fleet, statewide bridge and tunnel, clean transit, and nonattainment area air pollution mitigation enterprises. The fees are first collected in state FY 2022-23 and are annually adjusted for CPI inflation thereafter. Retail delivery fee revenue is credited to the HUTF for allocation to the state, counties, and municipalities and to the MTMOF and each enterprise's retail delivery fee revenue is collected by DOR on behalf of and credited to the cash fund controlled by the enterprise.
● Sections 45, 46, and 48 change the name of the statewide bridge enterprise to the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise, authorize the enterprise to complete tunnel projects, and authorize the enterprise to impose a bridge and tunnel impact fee on diesel fuel and a bridge and tunnel retail delivery fee to fund its business purpose. The bridge and tunnel impact fee is phased in from state FYs 2022-23 through 2031-32 and thereafter indexed to NHCCI inflation.
● Section 47 indexes the existing $2 short-term daily vehicle rental fee to CPI inflation and, on or after July 1, 2022, requires a car sharing program to collect the daily vehicle rental fee for any short-term vehicle rental of 24 hours or longer that is enabled by the car sharing program.
● Sections 49 through 51 change the name of the multimodal transportation options fund to the MTMOF and classify greenhouse gas mitigation projects as multimodal projects eligible for MTMOF funding. Section 51 also requires $12,000,000 to be transferred, on July 1, 2021, from the MTMOF to the southwest chief rail line economic development, rural tourism, and infrastructure repaired and maintenance fund to provide additional funding for the southwest chief La Junta route restoration program and an additional $2,500,000 to be transferred from the MTMOF to that fund on February 15, 2022. On and after October 1, 2022, unless CDOT has adopted implementing guidelines and procedures that require it and metropolitan planning organizations to take additional steps in the planning process for regionally significant transportation capacity projects to account for impacts on statewide greenhouse gas pollution and statewide vehicle miles traveled as required by section 30, section 51 also limits the use of money credited to the MTMOF from some of the general fund transfers made pursuant to section 7 and from the retail delivery fee pursuant to section 35 to multimodal projects that will help bring CDOT's 10-year vision plan or, in specified circumstances a metropolitan planning organization's regional transportation plan, into compliance with section 30 requirements.
● Section 52 creates the clean transit enterprise within CDOT for the business purpose of supporting clean public transit through electrification planning efforts, facility upgrades, fleet motor vehicle replacement, and construction and development of associated electric motor vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure. The clean transit enterprise is authorized to impose a clean transit retail delivery fee of up to a specified amount to fund its business purpose. The governance and powers and duties of the clean transit enterprise are specified. Section 52 also creates the nonattainment area air pollution mitigation enterprise for the purpose of mitigating transportation-related emissions in ozone nonattainment areas. The nonattainment area air pollution mitigation enterprise is authorized to impose air pollution mitigation per ride and retail delivery fees to fund its business purpose. The governance and powers and duties of the clean transit enterprise are specified.
Section 1 makes legislative findings and declarations that explain the purpose of the act and the reasons why it includes the new sources of dedicated funding and new state enterprises that it does. Section 2 clarifies that an existing fee may be used to fund the functions of the freight mobility and safety branch created in section 29. Sections 3 and 4 respectively clarify that the clean fleet enterprise operates as a type 1 agency within CDPHE and that the clean transit enterprise and the nonattainment area air pollution mitigation enterprise operate as type 1 agencies within CDOT.
Section 5 requires the CEO and CDPHE, after consultation with CDOT, to jointly and annually prepare a report for specified legislative committees that details the progress made toward the electric motor vehicle adoption goals set forth in the "Colorado Electric Vehicle Plan 2020" and the transportation sector greenhouse gas pollution reduction goals set forth in the "Colorado Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap". Section 5 also specifies a methodology to be used by the CEO, CDOT, and CDPHE to estimate the social costs of greenhouse gas pollution.
Sections 9, 34, 44, and 53 effectuate the repeal of the requirement that a ballot question seeking approval for the issuance of transportation revenue anticipation notes be submitted to the voters of the state at the November 2021 statewide election.
Section 10 requires CDOT to comply with specified transparency and contractor short-listing requirements when using the integrated project delivery method of contract procurement for a public project that involves infrastructure that is part of the state highway system. Section 14 clarifies that sales and use tax is not levied on the retail delivery fees imposed by or as authorized by the act. Sections 16 through 21 provide legal authority for collection under an existing multistate agreement of the motor fuel road usage and bridge and tunnel impact fees imposed by or as authorized by the act. Section 22 requires the staff of the public utilities commission to prepare an authorized taxi carrier parity report.
Section 27 requires CDPHE to seek approval from the federal environmental protection agency to modify the state implementation plan to expand the exemption from emissions testing for new motor vehicles to 10 model years for internal combustion engine motor vehicles and 12 model years for plug-in hybrid electric motor vehicles and to implement any approved modifications within 12 months following the approval. Section 28 creates the environmental justice and equity branch in CDOT's engineering, design, and construction division and requires the branch to identify and address technological, language, and information barriers that may prevent disproportionately impacted communities from participating fully in transportation decisions that affect health, quality of life, and access for disadvantaged and minority businesses in project delivery. Section 29 creates the freight mobility and safety branch in CDOT's transportation development division for the purpose of planning, designing, and implementing programs and projects that enhance freight mobility and safety within the state.
Section 30 requires CDOT and metropolitan planning organizations to engage in an enhanced level of planning, analysis, community engagement, and air quality monitoring with respect to transportation capacity projects and specifies what that entails and also requires CDOT to conduct a road usage charge study and an autonomous vehicle study. Section 31 allows some of the general fund money transferred to the state highway fund pursuant to section 7 to be used for multimodal transportation projects. Section 33 specifies the manner in which revenue credited to the HUTF as required by the act is allocated and expended.
Sections 36 through 43 authorize a transportation planning organization (TPO), subject to territorial restrictions and TPO member jurisdiction approval requirements, to exercise the powers of a regional transportation authority (RTA). Among other powers, the powers of a RTA include the power to impose various charges, fees, and, with voter approval, visitor benefit, sales, and use taxes to generate transportation funding for the purpose of financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining regional transportation systems. Any additional transportation funding obtained by a TPO exercising the power of a RTA is intended to supplement and not supplant state and federal transportation funding allocated within the boundaries of the TPO. Therefore, the transportation commission and CDOT are prohibited from taking such additional transportation funding into account when determining the amount of state and federal transportation funding to be allocated within the boundaries of a TPO, and CDOT, when submitting its annual proposed budget allocation plan, is required to provide evidence that the proposed allocation of state and federal transportation funding within the boundaries of any TPO that has obtained such additional transportation funding has not been reduced in any way on account of the additional transportation funding.
Section 47 reduces the amount of each road safety surcharge imposed on motor vehicle registration by $11.10 for registration periods beginning on or after January 1, 2022, but before January 1, 2023, and by $5.55 for registration periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023, but before January 1, 2024. Section 54 amends Senate Bill 21-205 (the FY 2021-22 general appropriations act) to correct an error and clarify that the electric vehicle grant fund is continuously appropriated to the CEO.
Section 55 funds the implementation of the act by making appropriations for FY 2021-22 as follows:
● $161,599,957 to CDOT, which includes $146,840,000 from the MTMOF for multimodal transportation projects, $14,500,000 from the southwest chief rail line economic development, rural tourism, and infrastructure repair and maintenance fund for the southwest chief and front range passenger rail commission, and $259,957 from the SHF for administration;
● $1,702,187 from the general fund to CDPHE for use by the air pollution control division, which includes $1,669,333 for transfer to the clean fleet enterprise initial expenses fund, $23,449 for personal services related to mobile sources, and $9,405 for operating expenses related to mobile sources;
● $1,104,661 to DOR, which includes:
● From the general fund: $412,200 for use by the division of motor vehicles for DRIVES system maintenance and support; $259,875 for use by the taxation business group for tax administration information technology system support; $231,020 for use by the taxation business group for personal services related to taxation services; $109,135 for use by the executive director's office for personal services related to administration and support; and $70,250 for use by the taxation business group for operating expenses related to taxation services; and
● From the license plate cash fund, $22,181 for use by the division of motor vehicles for license plate ordering
● $504,583 of reappropriated funds, which includes $212,680 from CDPHE, $191,412 from CDOT, and $100,491 from office of the governor, to the department of law to CDOT, the governor's office, and CDPHE to provide legal services related to the implementation of the act to CDPHE, CDOT, and the governor's office; and
● $100,491 from the general fund to the energy fund, which is continuously appropriated to the CEO.
Section 57 specifies that the provisions of the act are severable so that if any provision or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect any other provision or application of a provision that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)