First Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 25-0673.02 Clare Haffner x6137
HOUSE BILL 25-1241
House Committees Senate Committees
Energy & Environment
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING REQUIRING PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY OF STATIONARY101
SOURCE EMISSIONS RECORDS .102
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
Under current law, the air quality control commission is tasked
with developing an effective air quality control program (program),
including adopting rules necessary to carry out the program.
The bill requires a person that owns, leases, operates, controls, or
supervises (owner or operator) a building, structure, facility, or
installation that emits or may emit an air pollutant (stationary source) to
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Marshall and Garcia,
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Cutter and Kipp,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. maintain records that will help the public determine whether the owner
or operator is in compliance with rules establishing applicable air quality
control regulations (records). The bill requires an owner or operator of a
stationary source to make the records publicly available and accessible
through a link on the owner or operator's public website.
The department of public health and environment is required to
include a link on its website directing members of the public to the
website of an owner or operator where the records are available.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) Congress enacted the "Clean Air Act" in 1963 when electronic4
and digital business records were nonexistent;5
(b) Colorado continues to suffer from high levels of air pollution6
and, in the summer of 2024, exceeded the United States environmental7
protection agency's ozone limits for 40 days;8
(c) In May of 2023, the United States environmental protection9
agency issued a limited disapproval of Colorado's state implementation10
plan after finding that Colorado's practice of providing emission records11
to the state only on request did not sufficiently allow practical public12
access to information necessary to determine compliance with the "Clean13
Air Act";14
(d) In July of 2023, Colorado's attorney general filed a petition15
with the United States court of appeals for the tenth circuit for review of16
the United States environmental protection agency's disapproval;17
(e) The case will likely be settled, and Colorado will be allowed18
to continue its current practice of making air pollution records available19
to the state upon request, but not making the records accessible to the20
public;21
HB25-1241-2- (f) Air pollution emissions travel from a polluter's private property1
into the air of other private property owners and into public spaces;2
(g) People have a right to know what pollutants and discharges are3
emitted into the air they breathe and onto the property they own;4
(h) Pollution records are now kept in easily accessible electronic5
and digital formats that were unknown when congress enacted the "Clean6
Air Act";7
(i) The cost of electronic database storage for records is nominal,8
ranging from one cent to 20 cents per gigabyte; and9
(j) It is in the public interest and supports the health and welfare10
of Colorado residents to require that pollution records be both available11
to the state for inspection and accessible to the public.12
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 25-7-109.7 as13
follows:14
25-7-109.7. Emissions records - public accessibility - rules.15
(1) Rules. T
HE COMMISSION SHALL ADOPT RULES THAT ARE NECESSARY16
TO IMPLEMENT THIS SECTION.17
(2) Record-keeping. A
N OWNER OR OPERATOR SHALL MAINTAIN18
RECORDS OF:19
(a) I
NFORMATION ON THE NATURE AND AMOUNT OF EMISSIONS20
RELEASED FROM THE OWNER OR OPERATOR 'S STATIONARY SOURCE; AND21
(b) O
THER INFORMATION THAT THE COMMISSION DETERMINES IS22
NECESSARY TO ENABLE THE PUBLIC TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE23
STATIONARY SOURCE IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE EMISSION24
CONTROL REGULATIONS ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION PURSUANT TO25
SECTION 25-7-109.26
(3) Public accessibility of records. (a) A
N OWNER OR OPERATOR27
HB25-1241
-3- SHALL MAKE THE RECORDS DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (2) OF THIS SECTION1
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A LINK ON THE OWNER2
OR OPERATOR'S PUBLIC WEBSITE. THE OWNER OR OPERATOR SHALL3
MAINTAIN THE RECORDS IN A DIGITAL FORMAT THAT IS DOWNLOADABLE .4
(b) A
N OWNER OR OPERATOR SHALL UPDATE THE RECORDS5
MAINTAINED ON THE OWNER OR OPERATOR 'S PUBLIC WEBSITE PURSUANT6
TO SUBSECTION (3)(a) OF THIS SECTION ON A MONTHLY BASIS.7
(c) T
HE RECORDS MAY BE REDACTED TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL8
BUSINESS INFORMATION.9
(d) T
HE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT10
SHALL INCLUDE A LINK ON ITS WEBSITE THAT DIRECTS A MEMBER OF THE11
PUBLIC TO THE PUBLIC WEBSITE OF AN OWNER OR OPERATOR WHERE THE12
RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE.13
SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 25-7-122, amend14
(1)(b) introductory portion as follows:15
25-7-122. Civil penalties - rules - definitions. (1) Upon16
application of the division, the division may collect penalties as17
determined under this article 7 by instituting an action in the district court18
for the district in which the air pollution source affected is located, in19
accordance with the following provisions:20
(b) Any person who violates any requirement or prohibition of a21
final order of the division or commission, an applicable emission control22
regulation of the commission, the state implementation plan, a23
construction permit, any provision for the prevention of significant24
deterioration under part 2 of this article 7, any provision related to25
attainment under part 3 of this article 7, or any provision of or26
commission rule adopted pursuant to section 25-7-105, 25-7-106,27
HB25-1241
-4- 25-7-106.3, 25-7-108, 25-7-109, 25-7-109.5, 25-7-109.7, 25-7-111,1
25-7-112, 25-7-113, 25-7-114.2, 25-7-114.5, 25-7-118, 25-7-141,2
25-7-146, 25-7-206, 25-7-403, 25-7-404, 25-7-405, 25-7-407, 42-4-403,3
42-4-404, 42-4-405, 42-4-406, 42-4-407, 42-4-409, 42-4-410, or4
42-4-414 is subject to a civil penalty of not more than forty-seven5
thousand three hundred fifty-seven dollars per day for each day of the6
violation; except that:7
SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act8
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the9
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except10
that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V11
of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this12
act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take13
effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in14
November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the15
official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.16
HB25-1241
-5-