HB 25-1051
Fiscal Note
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
HB 25-1051: REPEAL RECYCLED PAPER CARRYOUT BAG FEE
Prime Sponsors:
Rep. Pugliese; Gonzalez R.
Sen. Pelton B.
Published for: House Energy & Environment
Drafting number: LLS 25-0374
Fiscal Analyst:
Amanda Liddle, 303-866-5834
amanda.liddle@coleg.gov
Version: Initial Fiscal Note
Date: January 30, 2025
Fiscal note status: This fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Summary Information
Overview. The bill repeals the requirement that retail establishments charge a fee for providing recycled
paper carryout bags.
Types of impacts. The bill is projected to affect the following areas on an ongoing basis:
Local Government
Appropriations. No appropriation is required.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts
Type of Impact
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
State Revenue $0 $0
State Expenditures $0 $0
Transferred Funds $0 $0
Change in TABOR Refunds $0 $0
Change in State FTE 0.0 FTE 0.0 FTE
Page 2
January 30, 2025 HB 25-1051
Summary of Legislation
The bill repeals the requirement that retail establishments charge a fee for providing recycled
paper carryout bags, which currently cost 10 cents per bag, paid by the customer at checkout.
Background
House Bill 21-1162 established the carryout bag fee, which took effect on January 1, 2023. State
law requires retail establishments to charge customers a fee of ten cents per bag, unless the
applicable municipality or county opts to raise the fee. Stores must remit 60 percent of the
revenue generated to the local government on a quarterly basis. Local governments may use the
revenue for its administrative and enforcement costs, waste diversion programs, and related
outreach activities. Local government enforcement of the fee is optional and an unknown
number of counties and cities have elected not to collect the fee revenue from stores.
Some local governments, both statutory and home-rule, already had local ordinances requiring
a bag fee prior to the passage of House Bill 21-1162. For example, Nederland previously passed
an ordinance charging $0.10 for a disposable carryout bag in 2015, and Fraser has imposed a
$0.20 carryout bag fee since 2018. Boulder and Denver have similarly imposed a $0.10 carryout
bag fee since 2012 and 2021, respectively.
A statewide total of bag fee collections is not available at this time. In a sample of 10 Colorado
cities, annual revenue ranged from about $900 in Mead to about $1.2 million in Colorado
Springs, with per capita revenues ranging from roughly $0.14 in Mead to $8.24 in Granby. For
some cities, annual revenues have generally trended downward as consumer behavior changes
in response to the carryout bag fee. Local collections vary by jurisdiction depending on
consumer behavior, number of stores, the level of local enforcement, tourist activity, and other
factors.
Local Government
Unless a municipality or county has passed or passes a local ordinance requiring stores to
charge a bag fee, the bill reduces local revenue from carryout bag fees and decreases
expenditures on program administration, enforcement, and uses such as waste diversion. These
impacts will vary by affected jurisdiction.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming
no referendum petition is filed. Page 3
January 30, 2025 HB 25-1051
State and Local Government Contacts
Counties
Information Technology
Local Affairs
Municipalities
Revenue
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.