Governor Signs Once-in-a-Generation Transportation Funding Legislation
Widely supported bill establishes sustainable funding, supports the Colorado Comeback, creates jobs, accelerates climate goals, and advances equity
DENVER, CO - Today, Governor Polis took the final step in establishing the future of Colorado’s transportation sector by signing SB21-260 into law. The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, House Speaker Alec Garnett, Senator Faith Winter, and Representative Matt Gray, comprehensively addresses Colorado’s crumbling and outdated transportation system by establishing a sustainable funding source to improve Colorado roads, investing in the future of EV charging infrastructure, and expanding multi-modal transit options to reduce congestion and improve air quality.
“Colorado has fallen behind when it comes to transportation investment and efficiency – costing our residents endless amounts of money and time. Even states like Mississippi and Utah have far outpaced us, making this plan even more urgent,” said Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder). “As a growing state, we need a transportation plan that will not only meet the growing demands of the present but prepare us for the realities of the future. With this new law, we are establishing just that: a modern, sustainable transportation system that is a reliable asset to our state rather than an ongoing liability.”
“Colorado leads the nation on issue after issue, and today we took the final step in ensuring that our transportation infrastructure will keep us competitive for decades to come,” said Speaker Alec Garnett (D-Denver). “From investing in rural road repair and improving our state’s highways to providing more transit options and preparing us for our clean energy future, this new law will go a long way toward modernizing the way Colorado gets kids to school, people to work, and goods to market.”
“After months of community planning and more than 130 stakeholder meetings, we have come together with a solution that will creatively and equitably address Colorado’s biggest transportation challenges,” said Senator Faith Winter (D-Westminster). “I am incredibly proud of the balance that this bill strikes as well as the urgency with which it acts because Coloradans can’t afford to wait one more minute as our roads crumble, traffic grinds to a halt, and toxic emissions pollute the air we breathe. This new law represents the future of transportation in our state, and it’s a future we can all be proud of.”
“The law signed today represents the culmination of months of careful, tireless negotiations after years of attempts at solving the complex issue of transportation funding in Colorado,” said Rep. Matt Gray (D-Broomfield). “Thanks to the good faith efforts of stakeholders on all sides of the issue, we were able to do what many before us had fallen short of. We found a path forward that will not only help us deal with the transportation needs of today, but will set up a sustainable funding mechanism to help our state deal with the transportation challenges of tomorrow. It’s time to get Colorado moving.”
The transportation proposal signed into law today will generate jobs, reduce congestion, create new transportation options, and balance the needs of every Colorado community.
Colorado’s gas tax was created in 1991, and its value has significantly eroded since then, leaving Colorado’s roads and transportation system drastically underfunded. The new law will create a sustainable funding source for transportation infrastructure that will support a dynamic economy, improve air quality, create jobs, and ensure Colorado is positioned to compete.
The proposal will provide $5.365 billion in transportation funding to fix roads and bridges, improve transit options, meet Colorado’s climate goals, and future-proof the state’s transportation system. The funding will come from a balanced and responsible mix of state, federal, and fee revenue that reflects all the users and uses of our transportation system. For the first two years, the law reduces vehicle registration fees, saving drivers money in 2022 and 2023. All new fees won’t begin until 2022 and will be nominal, costing the average driver about $28 in the first year, and will be spread across all users of the system to bring down costs on people while ensuring we are improving our infrastructure.
Overall, the law promotes collaboration between the Department of Transportation (CDOT), Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), and the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to coordinate both regional and statewide efforts to develop a transportation system that supports a dynamic economy while improving air quality, saving Coloradans time spent on the roads, and making key investments in rural and disproportionately impacted communities.
To ensure transparency, performance and accountability measures are required for every entity that receives funding through this new law, including the four new enterprises it creates. The Colorado Energy Office and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will report on progress made toward the electric motor vehicle adoption goals in the "Colorado Electric Vehicle Plan 2020" and the transportation sector greenhouse gas pollution reduction goals in the "Colorado Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap." CDOT and every new enterprise will maintain project management public dashboards that will show key performance indicators for projects paid for by the funding in this bill.
To address Colorado’s eroding fuel tax, the proposal will ensure we don’t lose ground in the future by imposing a small road usage fee so that everyone pays their fair share as the state transitions to a cleaner and more sustainable transportation future. However, because now is not the time to ask Coloradans to pay more, this law saves drivers money in 2022 and 2023 by reducing vehicle registration fees.
Over the course of the eleven-year plan set forth in the bill, nearly $3.8 billion will be generated through new fee revenue, and the bill will leverage over $1.5 billion in state general fund revenue and stimulus dollars. This will provide long-overdue funds after years of failed legislative attempts and ballot measures to support our statewide transportation system, as well as create good-paying jobs that will continue to exist for decades to come.