HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Mail Packet - 4/25/2023 - Legislative Review Committee Agenda Materials – April 25, 2023
City Manager’s Office
City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107 - fax
fcgov.com
Legislative Review Committee Agenda
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
3:00-4:00PM
Council Information Chambers (CIC) in City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave
In-person with Zoom option
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://fcgov.zoom.us/j/94407068742
1. Approval of minutes from March 21, 2023 meeting
a. Attached: March 21, 2023 minutes
2. Bill review (30 min)
a. Current Bill tracker (attached)
b. Other bills and bills for discussion
i. HB-1171: Relating to Just Cause Evictions
ii. HB 1115: Repeal Prohibition Local Residential Rent Control
iii. HB-1257: Mobile Home Park water Quality
iv. HB-1282: Protect Consumers from Additional Entities
v. HB-1294: Pollution Protection Measures
vi. SB-111: Public Employees' Workplace Protection
vii. SB-213: Land Use
viii. SB-270: Projects to Restore Natural Stream Systems
ix. SB-274: Water Quality Control Fee-setting By Rule
x. SB-286: CORA
xi. SB-290: Natural Medicine Legalization & Regulation (Mushrooms)
xii. Micro-trenching -Not introduced
3. CC4CA (20 min)
a. 2023 Policy Statement review and adoption
4. Other Business and Announcements (10 min)
a. Other
City Manager’s Office
City Hall
300 LaPorte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107 - fax
fcgov.com
DRAFT
Legislative Review Committee Minutes
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
3:00-4:00PM
Councilmembers present: Mayor Arndt, Councilmember Canonico (chair), Councilmember Peel,
Councilmember Gutowsky
Staff present: Ginny Sawyer, John Duval, John Phelan, Sylvia Tatman-Burruss, Megan DeMasters, Megan
Valliere
Guests present: Ed Bowditch (lobbyist), Jennifer Cassell (lobbyist), Michael Stella (intern for Bowditch &
Cassell)
1. Approval of minutes from February 21, 2023 meeting
a. The Mayor moved to approve the minutes from the February 21st, 2023, meeting.
Councilmember Peel seconded. Motion passed 3-0.
2. Bill review
a. Ed provided a mid-session update for the LRC. As of the day of the meeting, March 21st,
it was the 72nd day of the session with about seven weeks left. Ed shared that there is
quite a bit of work ahead of the legislature, and things are picking up in terms of volume
of work. Legislative leaders have shared with senators and representatives that few, if
any, controversial bills will be allowed late status this year.
b. The Legislative Review Committee reviewed bills that LRC members, City staff, and
lobbyists are monitoring. The following table details the specific bills that LRC discussed.
Bill/Bill Topic Prime Sponsors LRC Discussion Action Taken,
Recommendation or
Consensus from LRC
Bills on which the City has taken a position (or has been asked to consider taking a position )
HB23-1101 -
“Ozone Season
Transit Grant
Program
Flexibility”
Reps. Vigil and
Bacon
Sens. Winter
and Hinrichsen
The City supports ozone grant program
flexibility. An amendment was added that
would allow CDOT to redraw
transportation planning regions. It looks
like this portion of the bill will become a
study instead, and the bill should receive
final approval from the conference
committee on partisan lines.
The City has taken a
support position on
this bill.
HB23-1169 -
“Limit Arrests
for Low-Level
Offenses”
Rep. Bacon Rep. Bacon is making some changes to the
bill to make sure local governments
understand it is not her intention to
include municipal offenses for which there
is no state equivalent in arrest
prohibitions. There is currently no Senate
sponsor for this bill.
The City has taken
an oppose position
on this bill.
HB23-1190 -
“Affordable
Housing Right of
First Refusal”
Reps.
Boesenecker
and Sirota
Sen. Winter
Rep. Boesenecker is working on several
amendments to this bill. It passed the
House and shouldn’t have any issues in the
Senate.
The City has taken a
support position on
this bill.
SB23-058 - “Job
Application
Fairness Act”
Reps. Willford
and Young
Sens. Danielson
and Jaquez
Lewis
Would prohibit employers from inquiring
about an applicant’s age, date of birth, or
transcripts that indicate date of graduation
from an education institution on an
employment application. CML is currently
seeking amendments that clarify
municipalities’ ability to request these
documents after initial application.
The LRC decided to
continue to monitor
this bill.
SB23-111 -
“Public
Employees’
Workplace
Protection”
Rep. Woodrow
Sen. Rodriguez
CML is requesting that municipal partners
join in opposition to this bill, which they
are describing as a next step toward
collective bargaining. The current fiscal
note indicates that the proposal would
take money out of the employment
support fund.
The LRC decided to
continue to monitor
this bill.
SB23-150 -
“Require
Labelling
Disposable
Wipes”
Sens. Roberts
and Will
Reps. Froelich
and Frizell
Would require producers of pre-moistened
wipes to put on the packaging language to
the effect of “do not flush, these products
will clog sewer lines.” A representative
from the City testified in support of this bill
in both the House and the Senate. It
should pass with no issues.
The City has taken a
support position on
this bill.
SB23-172 -
“Protecting
Opportunities
And Workers'
Rights Act”
Reps.
Weissman and
Bacon
Sens. Winter
and Gonzales
This bill is being described as a new version
of the POWER Act from the 2021 session.
The bill would increase the quantity of
reasons an employee could sue their
employer, and the definition of
harassment in the bill is very broad. CML
has taken an oppose position.
The City is still
formally in a monitor
position, though
Mayor Arndt
expressed
willingness to
oppose this bill.
SB23-175 -
“Financing Of
Downtown
Development
Authority
Projects”
Reps.
Boesenecker
and Taggart
Sens. Jaquez
Lewis and Rich
This bill allows the extension of DDAs for
20 years. Jenn and Ed will share our
support for the bill with the appropriate
individuals.
The City has taken a
support position on
this bill.
Additional bills discussed
HB23-1215 -
“Limits on
Hospital Facility
Fees”
Reps. Sirota and
Boesenecker
Sens. Mullica
and Cutter
This bill would limit the facility fees that
can be charged by hospitals for various
outpatient services. Our partners at UC
Health are concerned about the budgetary
impacts of this legislation. Jenn said that
she will relay our concerns to Rep.
Boesenecker.
Continue to monitor.
HB23-1242 -
“Water
Conservation in
Oil and Gas
Operations”
Reps.
Boesenecker
and Joseph
Sen. Cutter
As originally drafted, would require oil and
gas operators to reduce their use of fresh
water and increase their use of
reused/recycled water. Due to a strike
below amendment, Rep. Boesenecker is
dramatically reworking the bill.
N/A
HB23-1245 -
“Campaign
Practices for
Municipal
Elections”
Rep. Parenti This bill would change campaign finance
rules for statutory municipalities, not
home rule municipalities.
N/A
SB23-198 -
“Clean Energy
Plans”
Rep. Weissman
Sen. Winter
John Phelan is working to align the City,
CAMU, PRPA, and CC4CA on this bill. PRPA
and CAMU have issues with some
provisions related to interim goals and
planning language that encroaches on
their authority related to public processes.
John will keep everyone updated on this
bill as discussions take place.
N/A
Micro-trenching
bill (not yet
introduced)
Rep. Titone CML opposes this bill. There is a strong
possibility it will not even be introduced
this session due to a leadership-imposed
limit on late bill status for controversial
bills.
The LRC said that if
this bill is
introduced, the City
will take an oppose
position.
Workers’ Comp
bill (not yet
introduced)
Rep.
Boesenecker
Jenn has a meeting with Rep. Boesenecker
on 03/24/2023 to discuss this and other
bills. We are under the impression Rep.
Boesenecker will not introduce this bill
until he reaches some sort of compromise
between the Claimaints’ Bar/AFL and the
bill’s large opposition coalition.
N/A
CORA bill (not
yet introduced)
Rep. Snyder
Sen. Hansen
The bill in its current form still carves out
reduced CORA rates for media. CML
strongly opposes any cost differentiation
for media.
LRC decided to
continue watching
and waiting for this
bill, and staff will
continue to monitor
when it gets
introduced.
Housing/Land
Use Bill (not yet
introduced)
Reps. Jodeh and
Woodrow
Sen. Moreno
Given the complicated interaction of our
own land use engagement process and the
timing of this piece of legislation, the LRC
decided that it shouldn’t take a position
separate from the full Council. The group
decided to schedule time for the full
Council to discuss the legislation once the
bill text is available for everyone to read.
Monitor until the full
Council can discuss.
Cleanup bill for
HB21-1110 -
“Colorado Laws
For Persons with
Disabilities”
Sen. Bridges The Governor’s Office wants to ensure that
public entities do not start removing
information from their websites as a result
of the 2021 accessibility law. Expecting
Sen. Bridges to run a cleanup bill that will
maintain the provisions of the bill but will
allow a have a cure period and will limit
the quantity of lawsuits that can be
brought against organizations for any one
instance of noncompliance. The cleanup
bill will not change the compliance
deadline of July 2024.
N/A
3. Other Business and Announcements
a. Councilmember Peel requested that the Agenda for LRC be provided in a way that
doesn’t require her to download it from our system, which takes a long time and isn’t
always easy to read. Ginny said she can print a few copies for our next meeting and also
noted that the agenda is available on the LRC subcommittee webpage at
https://www.fcgov.com/citymanager/legislative.
b. The group discussed how we should respond to endorsement/support requests. Ginny
clarified that if something fits squarely within the adopted Legislative Policy Agenda
(LPA), City staff act in accordance with the document in terms of support/oppose
positions. Staff will often maintain a monitor position when bills are potentially
controversial and wait for LRC/Council input, even if the LPA would indicate a
support/oppose position. Staff does not take positions on bills that address topics not
covered in the LPA. Ginny shared that we try to be very judicious with the number of
positions we take on bills each session.
Bill # Title Description Position Sponsors (House and Senate)
HB23-1039 Electric Resource Adequacy Reporting Concerning a requirement that electric load-serving
entities periodically report about the adequacy of their
electric resources, and, in connection therewith, making
an appropriation.
Monitor House: S. Bird (D); Senate: F. Winter (D), R. Rodriguez
(D)
HB23-1057 Amenities For All Genders In Public
Buildings
Concerning a requirement that certain public buildings
have restrooms with amenities for all genders.
Monitor House: K. McCormick (D), S. Vigil (D); Senate: S. Jaquez
Lewis (D)
HB23-1101 Ozone Season Transit Grant Program
Flexibility
Concerning support for transit, and, in connection
therewith, increasing the flexibility of the ozone season
transit grant program and increasing opportunities for
transit agency participation in regional transportation
planning.
Support House: J. Bacon (D), S. Vigil (D); Senate: F. Winter (D),
N. Hinrichsen (D)
HB23-1115 Repeal Prohibition Local Residential Rent
Control
Concerning the repeal of statutory provisions prohibiting
local governments from enacting rent control on private
residential property or a private residential housing unit.
Monitor House: J. Mabrey (D), E. Velasco (D); Senate: R.
Rodriguez (D)
HB23-1134 Require Electric Options In Home
Warranties
Concerning mandatory provisions in home warranty
service contracts, and, in connection therewith, requiring
a home warranty service contract to include terms
allowing a homeowner to replace any of certain gas-
fueled devices with a device that operates on electricity.
Monitor House: C. Kipp (D), J. Joseph (D); Senate: L. Cutter (D)
HB23-1161 Environmental Standards For Appliances Concerning environmental standards for certain products,
and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.
Monitor House: C. Kipp (D), J. Willford (D); Senate: L. Cutter (D)
HB23-1169 Limit Arrest For Low-level Offenses Concerning a non-arrest response by law enforcement for
certain low-level offenses.
Oppose House: J. Bacon (D); Senate:
HB23-1190 Affordable Housing Right Of First Refusal Concerning a right of first refusal to purchase qualifying
multifamily residential property by a local government.
Support House: E. Sirota (D), A. Boesenecker (D); Senate: F.
Winter (D)
HB23-1215 Limits On Hospital Facility Fees Concerning limitations on hospital facility fees, and, in
connection therewith, making an appropriation.
Oppose House: E. Sirota (D), A. Boesenecker (D); Senate: L.
Cutter (D), K. Mullica (D)
HB23-1243 Hospital Community Benefit Concerning changes to the hospital community benefit. Oppose House: J. Amabile (D); Senate: D. Moreno (D)
HB23-1245 Campaign Practices For Municipal Elections Concerning requirements under the ""Fair Campaign
Practices Act"" for municipal elections.
Monitor House: J. Parenti (D), J. Willford (D); Senate: K. Priola
(D), R. Rodriguez (D)
HB23-1255 Regulating Local Housing Growth
Restrictions
Concerning preemption of local regulations limiting the
number of building permits issued for development.
Monitor House: W. Lindstedt (D), R. Dickson (D); Senate: J.
Gonzales (D)
HB23-1282 Protect Consumers From Additional Entities Concerning persons subject to the ""Colorado Consumer
Protection Act"", and, in connection therewith, expanding
the definition of ""person"" used for purposes of the act to
include a public utility.
Oppose House: C. Kipp (D); Senate: K. Priola (D)
HB23-1294 Pollution Protection Measures Concerning measures to protect communities from
pollution.
Support House: J. Bacon (D), J. Willford (D); Senate: F. Winter
(D), J. Gonzales (D)
SB23-016 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction
Measures
Concerning measures to promote reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado, and, in
connection therewith, making an appropriation.
Monitor Senate: C. Hansen (D); House: E. Sirota (D), K.
McCormick (D)
SB23-035 Middle-income Housing Authority Act Concerning the operation of the middle-income housing
authority, and, in connection therewith, adding members
to the board of directors and expanding the power of the
authority to enter into public-private partnerships.
Support Senate: D. Moreno (D), J. Bridges (D); House: L. Herod
(D)
SB23-053 Restrict Governmental Nondisclosure
Agreements
Concerning restrictions on nondisclosure agreements
that affect government employees.
Monitor Senate: R. Rodriguez (D), B. Kirkmeyer (R); House: S.
Woodrow (D), G. Evans (R)
SB23-058 Job Application Fairness Act Concerning required disclosures of age-related
information on job applications, and, in connection
therewith, making an appropriation.
Monitor Senate: J. Danielson (D), S. Jaquez Lewis (D); House: M.
Young (D), J. Willford (D)
SB23-097 Motor Vehicle Theft And Unauthorized Use Concerning the adoption of the 2023 recommendations of
the Colorado commission on criminal and juvenile justice
regarding motor vehicle offenses committed by a person
who is not the owner of the motor vehicle, and, in
connection therewith, making an appropriation.
Monitor Senate: R. Zenzinger (D), R. Gardner (R); House: S. Bird
(D), M. Soper (R)
SB23-111 Public Employees' Workplace Protection Concerning public employees' workplace protection from
employer retaliation, and, in connection therewith, making
an appropriation.
Oppose Senate: R. Rodriguez (D); House: S. Woodrow (D)
SB23-150 Require Labeling Disposable Wipes Concerning a requirement that certain persons label
disposable wipes.
Support Senate: D. Roberts (D), P. Will (R); House: M. Froelich
(D), L. Frizell (R)
SB23-166 Establishment Of A Wildfire Resiliency Code
Board
Concerning the establishment of a wildfire resiliency code
board, and, in connection therewith, requiring the wildfire
resiliency code board to adopt model codes, requiring
governing bodies with jurisdiction in an area within the
wildland-urban interface to adopt codes that meet or
exceed the standards set forth in the model codes, and
making an appropriation.
Monitor Senate: T. Exum Sr. (D), L. Cutter (D); House: M.
Froelich (D), E. Velasco (D)
SB23-172 Protecting Opportunities And Workers'
Rights Act
Concerning protections for Colorado workers against
discriminatory employment practices.
Monitor Senate: F. Winter (D), J. Gonzales (D); House: M.
Weissman (D), J. Bacon (D)
SB23-175 Financing Of Downtown Development
Authority Projects
Concerning the use of tax increment financing by
downtown development authorities, and, in connection
therewith, creating automatic extensions of the periods
during which a portion of property tax revenues may be
allocated to finance projects of an authority.
Support Senate: J. Rich (R), S. Jaquez Lewis (D); House: A.
Boesenecker (D), R. Taggart (R)
SB23-183 Local Government Provision Of
Communications Services
Concerning the elimination of the requirement that a local
government obtain voter approval to provide certain
communications services.
Monitor Senate: K. Priola (D), M. Baisley (R); House: B. Titone
(D), R. Weinberg (R)
SB23-191 Colorado Department Of Public Health And
Environment Organics Diversion Study
Concerning a study regarding diversion of organic
materials from landfills.
Support Senate: L. Cutter (D); House: C. Kipp (D), J. Joseph (D)
SB23-200 Automated Vehicle Identification Systems Concerning the utilization of automated vehicle
identification systems for increased traffic law
enforcement by certain jurisdictions.
Monitor Senate: F. Winter (D); House: M. Froelich (D)
SB23-213 Land Use Concerning state land use requirements, and, in
connection therewith, establishing a process to diagnose
and address housing needs across the state, addressing
requirements for the regulation of accessory dwelling
units, middle housing, transit-oriented areas, key
corridors, and manufactured and modular homes,
prohibiting certain planned unit development resolutions,
prohibiting a local government from enforcing certain
occupancy limits, modifying the content requirements for
county and municipal master plans, prohibiting certain
municipalities from imposing minimum square footage
requirements for residential units, requiring entities to
submit a completed and validated water loss audit report
to the Colorado water conservation board, prohibiting a
unit owners' association from prohibiting certain kinds of
housing, requiring the transportation commission and the
department of transportation to modify the state highway
access code, criteria for certain grant programs, and
expenditures from the multimodal transportation options
fund to align with state strategic growth objectives, and
making an appropriation.
Monitor Senate: D. Moreno (D); House: S. Woodrow (D), I. Jodeh
(D)
SB23-244 Technology Accessibility Cleanup Concerning updates to language in relevant Colorado
statutes related to ensuring technology accessibility to
persons with disabilities.
Monitor Senate: R. Zenzinger (D), J. Bridges (D); House: S. Bird
(D), E. Sirota (D)
SB23-253 Standards For Products Represented As
Compostable
Concerning standards for products represented as
compostable in the state, and in connection therewith,
making an appropriation.
Monitor Senate: L. Cutter (D); House: M. Froelich (D), K.
McCormick (D)
SB23-270 Projects To Restore Natural Stream
Systems
Concerning activities that restore the environmental
health of natural stream systems without administration.
Support Senate: D. Roberts (D), C. Simpson (R); House: M. Catlin
(R), K. McCormick (D)
SB23-286 Access To Government Records Concerning public access to government records. Monitor Senate: C. Hansen (D); House: M. Snyder (D), M. Soper
(R)
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Environmental Services Department
222 Laporte Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.21.6600
MEMORANDUM
Date: April 19, 2023
To: Legislative Review Committee
Thru:
From:
CC:
Ginny Sawyer, Sr. Policy & Project Manager
Honore Depew, Climate Program Manager
Lindsay Ex, Environmental Services Director
Re: Consideration to Support Proposed Updates to the CC4CA Policy Statement
The purpose of this memo is to provide context for the proposed 2023 Policy Statement for Colorado
Communities for Climate Action (CC4CA) also in the April LRC packet.
The City of Fort Collins was a founding member of CC4CA. Part of that process involved the City
Council adopting a resolution expressing support for CC4CA’s Policy Statement. CC4CA goes through
a formal process of updating this Policy Statement every other year. Because the last time the Board
updated it was in June 2021, the Board is slated to decide on a new round of updates at this year’s
annual retreat (June 8-9, 2023).
CC4CA’s Policy Committee leads this process. Councilmember Canonico is a member of the Policy
Committee and plans to attend the June retreat, along with Environmental Services Department (ESD)
City Staff. The process has included soliciting input from every member jurisdiction, a preliminary
review by the Board of Directors at its February 2023 meeting, and now this final set of proposed
updates. City staff have reviewed and provided input to the process.
In preparation for the annual Board retreat, each CC4CA member is asked to review the proposed
changes and identify any that might be of concern.
There are several key points to keep in mind:
1. The process of crafting the proposed updates is extensive and thorough, so these
proposed updates have already gone through substantial vetting and baking.
2. For each proposed update, Board members will have the option of supporting,
abstaining, or objecting. If a single member objects to a specific proposed change at the
Board retreat, that change does not occur, so we ask that members only object (i.e., veto) if
they have a strong objection.
3. Ultimately, the question for our Board representative will be “can you live with this
proposed change?” as opposed to “Is this the best possible wording?”
4. Because the coalition now has 42 members, and each jurisdiction essentially has a veto
over every proposed update, it is important for member jurisdictions to raise any concerns
about proposed updates as soon as possible to give everyone time to understand and try to
resolve the issue.
5. The Policy Statement does not guide how CC4CA prioritizes among advocacy
opportunities. The Policy Committee does that separately. The Policy Statement simply
identifies the organization’s positions on each of the relevant policy issues.
The City of Fort Collins’ Board member has been asked to review the
proposed updates to confirm that they have no objections. CC4CA does not dictate how each member
jurisdiction does this. Some jurisdictions require or prefer that the elected body review and formally
approve the proposed updates. Some leave it to the Board member. Some handle this at the staff level.
All that CC4CA requires is for each member’s Board representative(s) to be empowered to represent
the jurisdiction for this final decision at the June retreat.
If we do raise concerns, CC4CA asks that we be very specific about what they are:
a. Which specific proposed update is of concern?
b. What exactly is the concern?
c. Would we rate the concern as minor (e.g., grammatical edits), moderate (may
require discussion but probably doesn’t require major changes to the proposed
updates), or serious?
ESD Director, Lindsay Ex, and Councilmember Canonico will be participating in the annual Board
retreat and need to be prepared to work through the final discussion and decision at the retreat. The
major discussion will occur on the first day of the retreat. If that discussion leads to any proposed
tweaks to the official proposed updates, Board members will have until the meeting resumes the next
day to secure any final additional approvals they may need.
Adams County · Aspen · Avon · Basalt · Boulder · Boulder County · Breckenridge · Broomfield · Carbondale
Clear Creek County · Crested Butte · Dillon · Durango · Eagle County · Edgewater · Erie · Fort Collins · Frisco
Gilpin County · Glenwood Springs · Golden · Lafayette · Lake County · Larimer County · Longmont · Louisville · Lyons
Mountain Village · Nederland · Northglenn · Ouray County · Pitkin County · Ridgway · Routt County · Salida
San Miguel County · Snowmass Village · Summit County · Superior · Telluride · Vail · Wheat Ridge
CC4CA Policy Statement
Effective July 1, 2021
Adopted by the Board of Directors June 4, 2021
PROPOSED POLICY STATEMENT UPDATES (REDLINE EDITS ACCEPTED)
FORMALLY PROPOSED BY THE POLICY COMMITTEE 3/9/23
(and updated with new language for #18 on 4/13/23)
Colorado Communities for Climate Action is a coalition of local governments advocating for stronger state and federal climate policy. CC4CA’s policy positions reflect unanimous agreement among the coalition members on steps that should be taken at the state and federal level, often in partnership with local governments, to enable Colorado and its communities to lead in protecting the climate.
CC4CA generally focuses on legislative, regulatory, and administrative action, supporting efforts that advance the general policy principles and the detailed policy positions described below, and opposing efforts that would weaken or undermine these principles and positions.
General Policy Principles
The following general principles guide Colorado Communities for Climate Action’s specific policy positions. CC4CA supports:
• Collaboration between state and federal government agencies and Colorado’s local governments to advance local climate protection and resilience.
• State and federal programs to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, including adequate and ongoing funding of those programs.
• Analyses, financial incentives, infrastructure, fiscal tools and enabling policies for the development and deployment of clean energy technologies.
• Locally driven and designed programs to support communities impacted by the clean energy transformation.
• Centering equity in decision-making by prioritizing policies that address systemic environmental and governance inequities based on race and socioeconomic status and that justly transition and grow the clean energy economy.
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Policy Positions
Colorado Communities for Climate Action supports policies that:
Statewide Climate Strategies
1. Reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions consistent with or greater than the State
of Colorado’s adopted, codified goals.
2. Secure accurate, actionable, useful, and regular state greenhouse gas inventories and
forecasts for Colorado which are made accessible to local governments and incorporate
alignment between state and local inventory data to the extent possible.
3. Adopt a comprehensive market-based approach to reduce Colorado’s greenhouse gas
emissions that ensures the benefits accrue justly and equitably to impacted
communities.
4. Treat the environmental and health costs associated with the use of fossil fuels as an
important priority in making and implementing climate-related policy.
Local Climate Strategies
5. Remove barriers and promote opportunities that allow counties and municipalities
to maximize deployment of local clean energy and climate-related strategies, including
resilience-oriented strategies, while promoting affordable, accessible, and equitable
delivery of reliable clean energy.
6. Enable local governments to obtain the energy use and other data from utilities and
state agencies that they need to effectively administer climate and clean energy
programs.
7. Support well-designed public processes for evaluating retail and wholesale energy
choice options for communities, informed by a broad variety of stakeholders.
8. Provide for cost-effective and equitable policies, strategies, and practices that enable
and accelerate energy efficiency in buildings, beneficial electrification, reducing
building related GHG emissions, and improving quality of life.
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Energy Generation, Transmission, and Distribution
9. Modernize energy infrastructure to strengthen grid reliability, enhance resilience
(community-based and otherwise), improve transmission, and more fully integrate
renewable energy, distributed generation, and energy storage resources.
10. Retire or discontinue the use of fossil fuel power plants while ensuring grid
reliability.
11. Discourage construction of new fossil fuel power plants.
12. Expand the ability of electric cooperatives and municipal electric utilities to
independently purchase local renewable electricity and take other steps to reduce
greenhouse gas pollution.
Energy Efficiency
13. Expand demand side savings from efficiency and conservation for all energy types.
14. Support ongoing and sustainable funding for weatherization and renewable energy
assistance to low-income households.
15. Provide counties and statutory cities and towns with the same authority held by
home rule cities to implement local energy conservation policies and programs.
Transportation
16. Ensure effective implementation of Colorado’s vehicle emissions standards, GHG-
related regulations, state and regional transportation-related plans, and other
regulatory and programmatic activities designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from mobile sources.
17. Increase funding and policy incentives for multimodal transportation and mobility
options, based on efficient use of resources.
Land Use
18. Encourage adoption and implementation of statewide policies that enable local
governments to enact land use, zoning, and planning policies that help reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and improve resilience.
19. Encourage adoption and implementation of practices in the agriculture and forest
sectors that durably reduce greenhouse gases, increase resilience, improve water
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conservation, support ecosystem health, and promote a sustainable, low-carbon
agriculture and forestry economy in Colorado.
Resilience
20. Proactively improve the resilience and adaptability of Colorado communities in the
face of natural disasters and other challenges associated with climate change, including
ensuring that disaster stabilization and recovery efforts result in reduced greenhouse
gas pollution and improved resilience to future disasters.
21. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with water management, and increase
water resilience, through water conservation, efficiency, reuse, adaptation, low impact
development strategies, and other approaches.
Fuel Sources
22. Eliminate emissions from and achieve comprehensive, high accuracy monitoring of
fossil fuel extractive industry activities.
23. Secure appropriate guardrails on the development/use of alternative energy
technologies, such as hydrogen and biomass, based on their life cycle greenhouse gas
emissions impacts, environmental and social impacts, and cost.
Waste
24. Ensure that CDPHE has adequate authority to implement plans and policies for
meeting Colorado’s statewide and regional solid waste diversion goals.
25. Secure high levels of circular economy activities like reuse, recycling, composting,
and reducing the carbon intensiveness of materials and products, including reducing
and eliminating use of disposable/single-use products and construction and demolition
waste.
26. Achieve significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions from solid waste, water
treatment, and wastewater processing.
General
27. Support ongoing and sustainable funding for programs that assist communities in
the transition from fossil fuel-dominated economies.
28. Support exploration and deployment, when appropriate, of well-regulated
technologies and practices that retain currently sequestered carbon, capture
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greenhouse gasses before they are emitted, remove greenhouse gasses from the
atmosphere, and use or sequester this carbon.
29. Encourage investments that achieve climate-positive solutions, including policies
that encourage entities investing public dollars to consider partial or full divestment in
fossil fuel extraction and use as part of their investment strategies.
30. Maintain protections and authorities currently provided under environmental laws
like the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act, and
ensure that these laws are fully implemented and can be improved through
stakeholder input when appropriate.