HB 1268: Renewable Energy Development on Disturbed Lands - Colorado

Rerevised → Final Act · 6 edits · May 21, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized to establish a legal framework for designating 'Renewable Energy Reinvestment Areas' on previously disturbed lands, such as brownfields, closed landfills, and decommissioned mining or oil and gas sites. This change allows local governments to designate these specific areas for renewable energy projects, streamlining the permitting process and enabling the use of tax increment financing to fund necessary public infrastructure.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly include construction materials mining sites alongside minerals mining sites, closed landfills, and oil and gas sites in the definition of eligible locations for renewable energy projects.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Mining Operation Affected Land' to explicitly include lands affected by the extraction of construction materials, broadening the range of eligible sites.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory requirement for local permitting entities to consult with the Division of Parks and Wildlife regarding wildlife and habitat impacts before designating a renewable energy reinvestment area.

Added a requirement for local permitting entities to conduct outreach and engage disproportionately impacted communities, including holding public meetings consistent with specific state procedures.

Added a requirement for public hearings regarding both the designation of the area and the specific construction permits for projects within that area.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified the definition of 'Utility' to explicitly include investor-owned, cooperative, municipally owned, and wholesale electric cooperatives.

TECHNICAL

Removed the 'Bill Summary' section and introductory formatting text, as these are no longer needed in the final enacted version of the law.

Revised → Rerevised · 3 edits · Apr 10, 2026

MINOR

The bill text was updated to reflect the latest amendments passed by the Senate, changing the status from 'Revised' to 'Rerevised' and adding new Senate sponsors. The document also includes a new '3rd Reading Unamended' stamp, indicating the bill has been finalized for that stage. No substantive policy changes, such as new funding, eligibility criteria, or legal definitions, were identified in the provided text.

Scope change

None; the changes are administrative updates to the bill's versioning and sponsorship list.

TECHNICAL

Added new Senate sponsors (Amabile, Benavidez, Coleman, Cutter, Jodeh, Kipp, Wallace) to the bill's sponsorship list.

Updated the document header to change the status from 'Revised' to 'Rerevised' and adjusted the amendment description text.

Added a '3rd Reading Unamended' stamp with the date April 10, 2026, and the Senate designation.

Reengrossed → Revised · 4 edits · Apr 9, 2026

MODERATE

The bill has been revised to reflect amendments adopted during the second reading in the Senate, updating the document title and committee assignments. The most significant substantive change is the removal of several definitions related to mining operations, energy storage systems, and life of the mine, suggesting a narrowing of the bill's scope to focus strictly on renewable energy projects on previously disturbed lands.

Scope change

The bill's scope appears to have narrowed by removing specific definitions related to mining and energy storage that were present in the previous version.

DEFINITION

Definitions for 'regulated materials', 'energy storage system', and 'life of the mine' were deleted, indicating the bill no longer addresses these specific concepts.

TIMELINE

A specific date of April 9, 2026, was added, likely marking a deadline or effective date for the Senate's second reading amendments.

SCOPE

The bill's title was updated to explicitly state it concerns measures to advance renewable energy projects on previously disturbed lands through the designation of reinvestment areas.

REQUIREMENT

Committee assignments were updated to include the Senate Transportation & Energy committee alongside the House Energy & Environment committee.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 4 edits · Mar 16, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was reengrossed to include additional co-sponsors and updated the summary date to reflect the third reading. The most significant substantive change is the removal of specific definitions for 'construction materials' and 'local permitting entity,' which previously tied the bill's application to specific local land use laws. This deletion likely broadens the bill's scope by removing the requirement that the legislation apply only to operations governed by those specific definitions.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing definitions that previously linked the legislation to specific local permitting entities and construction material extraction definitions.

DEFINITION

Removed the definition of 'construction materials' extraction operations, which previously limited the bill's application to those specific sites.

Removed the definition of 'local permitting entity,' which previously restricted the bill's application to specific local governments with land use authority.

TECHNICAL

Added additional co-sponsors to the House sponsorship list.

TIMELINE

Updated the bill summary date to March 16, 2026, and changed the status header from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed.'

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Mar 13, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to replace the original focus on 'brownfield' and 'closed landfill' sites with a broader definition of 'eligible sites' that now includes lands affected by oil and gas operations and specific federal environmental designations. Additionally, the definition of 'life of the mine' was expanded to explicitly cover mining operations for construction materials, not just minerals. These changes significantly expand the geographic scope of where renewable energy projects can be sited under this law.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from limited brownfield and landfill sites to include oil and gas affected lands and federally designated environmental sites.

ELIGIBILITY

The definition of 'eligible site' was broadened to include land affected by oil and gas operations (once decommissioned) and land regulated by federal environmental laws (CERCLA, RCRA, or VCRRA).

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for 'Brunot Agreement' and 'Brunot Area,' which appear to be specific historical or legal references inserted into the definitions section.

The definition of 'life of the mine' was updated to include mining operations for the extraction of construction materials, in addition to minerals.

The original definition for 'closed landfill' was removed and renumbered, while the 'brownfield site' definition was retained but renumbered within the new list.

Renewable Energy Development on Disturbed Lands

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