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February 28, 2024 HB 24-1338
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0797
Rep. Rutinel; Velasco
Sen. Michaelson Jenet
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 28, 2024
House Energy & Environment
Matt Bishop | 303-866-4796
matt.bishop@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: CUMULATIVE IMPACTS & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill creates the Office of Environmental Justice, creates a rapid response team to
respond to air quality complaints, requires an assessment of refinery regulations, and
establishes a mechanism for local governments to request stricter emissions limits. It
increases state expenditures on an ongoing basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires an appropriation of $1,829,087 to the Department of
Public Health and Environment.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 24-1338
Budget Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
Revenue - -
Expenditures General Fund $1,829,087 $2,418,821
Centrally Appropriated $99,196 $121,288
Total Expenditures $1,928,283 $2,540,109
Total FTE 5.8 FTE 9.0 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve $274,363 $362,823
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February 28, 2024 HB 24-1338
Summary of Legislation
The bill creates the Office of Environmental Justice, creates a rapid response team to respond to
air quality complaints, requires an assessment of refinery regulations, and establishes a
mechanism for local governments to request stricter emissions limits.
Office of Environmental Justice. The bill creates the office in the Department of Public Health
and Environment (CDPHE) to increase state engagement with disproportionately impacted
communities, develop CDPHE’s environmental justice goals, support the department’s water
quality testing program in mobile home parks, provide translation services for the department,
and generally coordinate environmental justice work across government and tribal entities in
Colorado.
The bill requires the office to contract for at least two Environmental Equity and Cumulative
Impact Analyses for state agencies in analyzing cumulative impacts. Each analyses evaluates a
particular geographic reason, as determined by the office, based on published guidance from
the Environmental Justice Task Force and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Rapid response inspections. CDPHE must establish a rapid response inspection team to
respond to air quality complaints. The team must develop best practices for responding to
complaints, prioritizing complaints related to adverse effects in disproportionately impacted
communities, and must conduct education and outreach in communities.
Petroleum refinery regulations. CDPHE must hire an expert in air pollution control for
petroleum refineries to assess petroleum refinery control regulations and other measures.
Beginning January 1, 2025, petroleum refineries must provide data to the department on
emissions monitoring systems and compliance with state orders. Before that date, petroleum
refineries must upgrade community-based monitoring systems to monitor certain pollutants
and atmospheric conditions, as specified by the bill.
New emissions limits. Beginning January 1, 2026, the bill authorizes local governments that are
cumulatively impacted by pollution to request that the Air Quality Control Commission impose
limits on certain stationary sources of air pollution in their jurisdictions. The bill specifies
exemptions, including emissions activities required for compliance with state or federal law or
related to renewable energy production, affordable housing, or domestic wastewater treatment.
State Revenue
The bill potentially increases state revenue from gifts, grants, or donations; however, no sources
have been identified at this time. Gifts, grants, and donations are exempt from TABOR revenue
limits.
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February 28, 2024 HB 24-1338
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in CDPHE by about $1.9 million in FY 2024-25 and
$2.5 million in FY 2025-26, paid from the General Fund. Expenditures are shown in Table 2 and
detailed below.
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 24-1338
FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26
Department of Public Health and Environment
Personal Services $504,618 $617,274
Operating Expenses $5,760 $7,040
Capital Outlay Costs $33,350 $6,670
Legal Services $310,449 $812,927
Contractor $959,310 $959,310
Travel Costs $15,600 $15,600
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$99,196 $121,288
FTE – Personal Services 4.5 FTE 5.5 FTE
FTE – Legal Services 1.3 FTE 3.5 FTE
Total Cost $1,928,283 $2,540,109
Total FTE 5.8 FTE 9.0 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Environmental Justice Office. CDPHE requires 2.0 FTE to staff the office, including setting goals
and coordinating environmental justice work across departments. This workload includes
soliciting the contract for the environmental equity and cumulative impacts analyses and
overseeing the contractor’s work. The contractor costs in Table 2 assume that one analysis will
be initiated each year and that contractor costs require roll-forward spending authority over
multiple years until the analysis is published.
Rapid response team. CDPHE requires 2.0 FTE to conduct education and outreach on air
pollution and to respond to air quality complaints. Travel costs include mileage to visit
communities and accommodations for overnight travel as necessary.
Petroleum refinery regulation. The bill requires CDPHE to hire 1.0 FTE to provide necessary
expertise on petroleum refinery regulation and to propose rules to the department as
appropriate. This position is prorated for a January 1, 2025, start date.
Local government requests to limit emissions. CDPHE requires 0.5 FTE beginning in
FY 2025-26 to evaluate request from local governments for eligibility and to support local
governments in understanding potential regulatory actions. Page 4
February 28, 2024 HB 24-1338
Operating and capital costs. For each staff function, standard capital and operating costs are
included, and are prorated for each position’s start date.
Legal services. CDPHE will require legal services for general counsel to the Environmental
Justice Office and to support rulemaking and regulatory actions. Based on the bill’s staggered
implementation timeline, this requires 2,425 hours in FY 2024-25, 6,350 hours in FY 2025-26, and
9,050 hours ongoing. Legal services are provided by the Department of Law at a rate of $128.02
per hour.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs
associated with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally
appropriated in the Long Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These
costs, which include employee insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are
shown in Table 2.
Other Budget Impacts
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve. Based on this fiscal note,
the bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the amounts
shown in Table 1, decreasing the amount of General Fund available for other purposes.
Local Government
The bill increases expenditures in any local government that seeks stricter emissions limits on
pollution sources in its jurisdiction to ensure that it meets the bill’s conditions for making the
request of CDPHE.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his signature.
State Appropriations
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires a General Fund appropriation of $1,829,087 to the Department
of Public Health and Environment, and 4.5 FTE. Of this, $310,449 is reappropriated to the
Department of Law, with an additional 1.3 FTE. An estimated $959,310 in contractor costs
require roll-forward spending authority through FY 2025-26.
CDPHE made a budget request for FY 2024-25 to create a new Office of Health Equity and
Environmental Justice. If that budget request is approved, some of the impacts identified in this
fiscal note for the Office of Environmental Justice operations may be redundant. The fiscal note
may be updated if funding included in the Long Bill affects the required resources for this bill.
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February 28, 2024 HB 24-1338
State and Local Government Contacts
Law Public Health and Environment
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit the General Assembly website.