Colorado Legislative Roundup 2022

One other yr, one other legislative session accomplished with Governor Jared Polis’s veto window closed. The 2022 session caused main victories for our well being and surroundings and large alternatives for us to proceed to spend money on a clear, wholesome, and honest Colorado for all. All through months of negotiations, the NRDC workforce labored with legislators, state leaders, and coalition companions to go and signal into regulation important local weather, clear power, and clear air reforms.

Plenty of themes rose to the highest as important priorities for the state, and lots of the payments under search to handle the problems of:

• Air high quality: Following a summer time of traditionally polluted air, laws labored to handle a few of the main causes of air air pollution.
• Wildfire response: After the devastating Marshall Hearth final December, which was the most costly catastrophe in Colorado’s historical past with greater than $1 billion in insurance coverage claims, a number of payments sought to mitigate the danger of fires sooner or later whereas serving to impacted owners, like NRDC associate Susan Nedell, now.
• Fairness: With the rising price of residing, a historic scarcity of housing, and disproportionate impacts of local weather change and air air pollution felt by communities of shade and low-income communities, serving to of us who’re most impacted was a high precedence. Our work additionally supported a simply power transition for communities the place jobs and profession pathways might be impacted by altering power wants.
• Clear financial system: Enterprise and trade play a important function in a extra sustainable Colorado, so a number of payments launched applications to assist clear up operations, together with elevated recycling and incentives for voluntary measures.

Listed below are a few of the payments NRDC supported this yr to assist Colorado obtain its essential local weather, environmental, and public well being targets:

Increasing entry to multimodal and electrical transportation

• Applications to Cut back Ozone By means of Elevated Transit (SB22-180) invests $28 million for transit businesses statewide to offer not less than one month of fare-free transit throughout the ozone season for the subsequent two years. It additionally invests $30 million in Colorado Division of Transportation’s regional bus service, Bustang, and provides $10 million to the Revitalizing Foremost Streets program.
• Air High quality Enchancment Investments (SB22-193) allocates $12 million for electrical bike rebate applications and neighborhood bike share, and $65 million to assist faculty districts exchange diesel faculty buses with electrical ones. It additionally establishes a grant program for voluntary initiatives that enhance power effectivity and improve electrification of trade and manufacturing.
• Various Transportation Choices Tax Credit score (HB22-1026) incentivizes employers with a tax credit score for offering workers with extra sustainable commute choices, reminiscent of transit passes, experience sharing or automotive sharing, or bike and scooter choices. This invoice helps enhance fairness by requiring the choices to be supplied to all workers, together with part-time or hourly staff.

Advancing environment friendly and resilient buildings and houses

• Constructing Greenhouse Fuel Emissions (HB22-1362) requires municipalities or counties that replace any constructing codes to additionally replace to the 2021 worldwide power code, which saves 10 % extra power than earlier codes, and add requirements to make new buildings prepared for photo voltaic panel and electrical automobile infrastructure. The timeline for adoption is at the moment versatile so there is a chance to strengthen this laws sooner or later by making a agency, near-term deadline of 2025.
• Catastrophe Preparedness and Restoration Sources (SB22-206) gives much-needed monetary help to rebuild sustainably after fires and different pure disasters (beginning with these affected in 2018) and gives aviation and firefighting assets. It is going to place Colorado as a pacesetter in sustainable rebuilding efforts and can assist scale back our carbon emissions. The legislature invested $35 million for dwelling rebuilding applications and for the workplace of local weather preparedness to assist coordinate and rebuild with power effectivity in thoughts. Renters can profit, too, from help within the occasion their residence is impacted by a catastrophe.
• State Grants Investments Native Inexpensive Housing (HB22-1304) creates two grant applications to assist advance inexpensive and extra environment friendly housing. The Sturdy Communities grant program allocates $40 million for native governments to spend money on sustainable land use practices, together with infill. Good land use makes growth extra environment friendly and transit-friendly, and it helps scale back housing prices whereas increasing entry to extra housing.

Guaranteeing a simply clear power future

• Fund Simply Transition Neighborhood and Employee Helps (HB22-1394) transfers $15 million from the overall fund, with $5 million allotted to the simply transition money fund and $10 million allotted to the coal transition workforce help program account, and directs the Division of Labor and Employment, via the Workplace of Simply Transition, to expend the cash for specified coal neighborhood and employee helps. This funding will assist help NRDC’s efforts to interact frontline communities within the transition to a clear power future.

Decreasing waste and supporting sustainable lifecycles

• Waste Diversion and Round Economic system Growth Heart (HB22-1159) creates a round financial system growth heart whose function is to develop current markets, create new markets, and supply essential infrastructure, logistics, and advertising and marketing to create a sustainable round financial system for recycled commodities in Colorado. The advantages embrace a strong native supply for important manufacturing supplies, together with paper, glass, steel, and plastics; much less waste going to the landfill; diminished transportation prices and emissions; and native job creation. This invoice prevents Coloradans from needlessly throwing away precious feedstock that would contribute to a strong provide chain and add jobs within the clear financial system.

Defending public well being

• Public Protections from Poisonous Air Contaminants (HB22-1244) requires the Air High quality Management Fee to determine 5 precedence air toxics and set up health-based requirements for them. It additionally expands monitoring from one to 6 websites throughout the state to check for a broad vary of air toxins and requires public enter on areas. The invoice additionally establishes a statewide stock and reporting to the state on emitted air toxics and requires a research to judge the necessity for an air toxics allowing program. Taking motion on harmful air toxics was a high precedence for a coalition of environmental justice and well being organizations.

Although we had many significant wins, there have been different moments when robust laws was amended under our requirements, reminiscent of with our “Filter First” laws to take away lead from consuming water in faculties. A broad piece of local weather laws, Cut back Greenhouse Fuel Emissions in Colorado, which might’ve, amongst different issues, set interim emissions reductions targets, didn’t make it via the legislature within the last days to make sure profitable passage of different payments. One other good coverage, which might’ve required new and renovated multifamily and business buildings to incorporate primary electrical infrastructure to pave the way in which for EV charging, was handed with bipartisan help solely to be disappointingly vetoed by the governor.

We’re already occupied with what must occur subsequent yr, and we’ll proceed to work exhausting alongside our companions to fulfill this important second to spend money on a climate-resilient future for Colorado.