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.)
The act extends the availability of the conservation easement tax credit from income tax year 2031 through income tax year 2036. The act also prohibits the division of conservation from issuing any additional credit certificates or amending previously issued credit certificates as a result of the additional authority granted by the act for a donation made prior to the effective date of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act appropriates the following amounts for the 2026-27 state fiscal year from the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) construction fund to the CWCB or the division of water resources in the department of natural resources for the following projects:Continuation of the satellite monitoring system, $380,000 (section 1 of the act);Continuation of the floodplain map modernization program, $500,000 (section 2);Continuation of the weather modification permitting program, $500,000 (section 3);Continuation of the Colorado Mesonet project, $200,000 (section 5);Continuation of the water forecasting partnership project, $2,500,000 (section 6);Continuation of Colorado decision support system operation and maintenance, $750,000 (section 7);Support for water plan agency actions, $1,350,000 (section 9);Continuation of the Colorado watershed restoration and flood mitigation projects, $5,000,000 (section 10); andContinuation of the upper Colorado river commission planning, $750,000 (section 11). Section 4 directs the state treasurer to transfer up to $6,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the CWCB litigation fund on or before July 1, 2026. Section 8 restores the fish and wildlife resources fund balance by transferring $2,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the fish and wildlife resources fund. Section 12 authorizes the CWCB to make a loan in an amount of $151,500,000 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the city of Fort Collins to support the Halligan water supply project. Section 13 authorizes the CWCB to make a loan in an amount of $20,166,670 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the Lower Latham Reservoir Company for the Jurgens reservoir construction project. Section 14 appropriates $37,700,000 from the water plan implementation cash fund to the CWCB to award grants that will help implement the state water plan. Section 15 clarifies that the money that is currently in the turf replacement fund is appropriated for designated purposes to the CWCB until June 30, 2028. Any money remaining in the turf replacement fund on July 1, 2028, is transferred to the CWCB construction fund. Section 16 makes technical corrections so that money appropriated in 2025 is available to the department of natural resources executive director's office for the purpose of paying for a study by the Colorado water center at Colorado state university. Under current law, the CWCB may authorize loans up to $10 million from the CWCB construction fund or severance tax perpetual base fund without legislative authorization. The act increases that amount to $30 million (section 17).(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 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.)
Sunset Process - House Agriculture, Water, and Natural Resources Committee. The bill indefinitely continues the Colorado forest health council (council) until September 1, 2033. Before the repeal, the council will be given a sunset review. The bill also removes the 2 legislative members from the council.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
