2022 Air Quality Legislation

SB 22- 193: A b ig bill that would:

• Create a $ 25 million fund to provide grants to industrial and manufacturing facilities and local governments for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Among the projects that would qualify are efforts that would use hydrogen fuel, electric vehicles and projects to reduce carbon and methane emissions. The grant program would dissolve Sept. 1, 2029.

• Create a $ 12 million fund to increase public access to electric bicycles through grants and rebates. The program would be repealed Sept. 1, 2028.

• Spend $ 15 million to decommission the oldest diesel trucks operating in Colorado and replace them with newer, more fuel- efficient models. The grant money would be available for public and private entities through July 1, 2032.

• Spend $ 65 million to buy electric school buses in Colorado through Sept. 1, 2034.

• Provide $ 7 million to the state health department for aerial surveillance of pollutants.

• Provide $ 750,000 to the state health department provide free RTD passes for employees.

• Cap annual fees for industry at $ 1 million this year and allow those caps to rise annually until they reach a $ 5 million maximum on July 1, 2024.

SB22- 180:

This bill would set aside $ 14 million to provide free public transportation, largely through RTD, for one month each year when ozone pollution is at its highest levels. It also would provide $ 30 million to expand the Bustang, the state’s regional bus service.

HB22- 1244:

A proposal that would give the state’s Air Quality Control Commission the authority to adopt rules that are more stringent than the federal Clean Air Act. The commission would be asked to regulate toxic air contaminants, and companies that are sources of air pollution would have to submit annual reports that list the amount of contaminants they release. The bill also would develop a statewide air quality monitoring system and it would create a toxic air contaminant advisory board to determine which emissions would be monitored and regulated.

In 2019, the legislature allowed the Air Quality Control Commission to set the fees, but the commission didn’t want to place a sharp increase on industry right from the start, Hunsaker Ryan said. The budget request would give the division what it needs for two years to boost its staffing and technology.

“This is the way we intend to solve the problem of long- term underinvestment,” she said.

So far Colorado’s efforts to improve air quality are earning support from environmental advocacy groups.

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, a public interest group that promotes energy efficiency in six western states, including Colorado, is urging the legislature to approve the package of air quality measures to combat drought, wildfires and other climate disasters.

Even though the organization supports the legislation, there are parts it disagrees with. For example, one bill would replace aging diesel trucks with newer models, but the group wants all diesel trucks off the roads, said Will Frommer, the group’s senior transportation association.

“It seems like we are going backward to create a new program for diesel trucks when we need to go all- in on electric trucks,” Frommer said. “We don’t have time to waste.”