The 2024 Colorado General Assembly has now been in session for nine weeks and 554 bills have been introduced for consideration. The legislature runs on a 120-consecutive-day schedule, including weekends and holidays, and is scheduled to adjourn on May 8 this year. This means we’re a little more than halfway through the session with plenty more to do! Weather is toying with our lawmaking a bit this month though, with the threat of several snow days looming ahead of us.

Despite the potential weather delays we are seeing movement at the Capitol regarding bills our members at Western Colorado Alliance are eager to support.

Last Thursday, members of our Local Food & Ag team — a farmer, rancher, ag specialist, and restaurant owners — testified in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee in support of Senate Bill 24-152, the Regenerative Agriculture Tax Credit bill that would provide an income tax incentive to food and beverage businesses for purchasing from local farmers and ranchers who are using, or are transitioning to, regenerative practices. We’re thrilled that the bill passed through the committee unanimously in favor. It was scheduled to be heard today in the Finance committee, but yesterday afternoon, the State Legislature called its first snow day for today, so we hope to see it back on the calendar next week!

Just minutes before our members testified in support of the Regenerative Ag bill, our board member (and a leader of our Climate & Energy work), Barbara Vasquez, was appointed to the Colorado Water Conservation Board in the same hearing. Congratulations, Barbara, on your appointment! The state of Colorado will benefit from your participation.

And finally, halfway through the session, our Climate & Energy team is seeing movement on several bills they have been highly anticipating.

House Bill 24-1367  was introduced this week after much hard work by Representative Cathy Kipp. This bill would end tax exemptions on “stripper wells” (wells near the end of their useful life which produce very little oil or gas). This would have a large impact on taxpayers in Garfield County since 70% of the county’s 12,000 wells are stripper wells. 

House Bill 24-1357 the Pipeline Safety Bill was also introduced this week which will ensure that Colorado’s oil and gas pipelines are held to the same safety inspection and repair guidelines as oil and gas wells in the state.  This includes mapping pipelines, inspecting them regularly for leaks, and requiring operators to fix them in a timely manner, as well as making sure abandoned pipes are removed from the ground. These common-sense protections will ensure that home explosions like what happened in Firestone will be less likely in the future. 

Among a suite of three ozone-related bills, Senate Bill 24-166 the Air Quality Enforcement bill was introduced on February 20. This bill ensures that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment can meaningfully enforce all the public health and safety rules we have passed in this state — including allowing impacted residents to take civil action against companies who break the rules.

We’re excited to see this movement at the Capitol and are also working on legislation pertaining to public transportation, mental and behavioral health needs, affordable housing, and more. We’re still eagerly awaiting the introduction of a few clean energy bills, and will keep you updated as the session continues!