Colorado 2025 Regular Session

Colorado House Bill HB1241 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	First Regular Session
2	2	Seventy-fifth General Assembly
3	3	STATE OF COLORADO
4	4	INTRODUCED
5	5
6	6
7	7	LLS NO. 25-0673.02 Clare Haffner x6137
8	8	HOUSE BILL 25-1241
9	9	House Committees Senate Committees
10	10	Energy & Environment
11	11	A BILL FOR AN ACT
12	12	C
13	13	ONCERNING REQUIRING PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY OF STATIONARY101
14	14	SOURCE EMISSIONS RECORDS .102
15	15	Bill Summary
16	16	(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
17	17	not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
18	18	passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
19	19	applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
20	20	http://leg.colorado.gov
21	21	.)
22	22	Under current law, the air quality control commission is tasked
23	23	with developing an effective air quality control program (program),
24	24	including adopting rules necessary to carry out the program.
25	25	The bill requires a person that owns, leases, operates, controls, or
26	26	supervises (owner or operator) a building, structure, facility, or
27	27	installation that emits or may emit an air pollutant (stationary source) to
28	28	HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
29	29	Marshall and Garcia,
30	30	SENATE SPONSORSHIP
31	31	Cutter and Kipp,
32	32	Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
33	33	Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
34	34	Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. maintain records that will help the public determine whether the owner
35	35	or operator is in compliance with rules establishing applicable air quality
36	36	control regulations (records). The bill requires an owner or operator of a
37	37	stationary source to make the records publicly available and accessible
38	38	through a link on the owner or operator's public website.
39	39	The department of public health and environment is required to
40	40	include a link on its website directing members of the public to the
41	41	website of an owner or operator where the records are available.
42	42	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
43	43	SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
44	44	finds and declares that:3
45	45	(a) Congress enacted the "Clean Air Act" in 1963 when electronic4
46	46	and digital business records were nonexistent;5
47	47	(b) Colorado continues to suffer from high levels of air pollution6
48	48	and, in the summer of 2024, exceeded the United States environmental7
49	49	protection agency's ozone limits for 40 days;8
50	50	(c) In May of 2023, the United States environmental protection9
51	51	agency issued a limited disapproval of Colorado's state implementation10
52	52	plan after finding that Colorado's practice of providing emission records11
53	53	to the state only on request did not sufficiently allow practical public12
54	54	access to information necessary to determine compliance with the "Clean13
55	55	Air Act";14
56	56	(d) In July of 2023, Colorado's attorney general filed a petition15
57	57	with the United States court of appeals for the tenth circuit for review of16
58	58	the United States environmental protection agency's disapproval;17
59	59	(e) The case will likely be settled, and Colorado will be allowed18
60	60	to continue its current practice of making air pollution records available19
61	61	to the state upon request, but not making the records accessible to the20
62	62	public;21
63	63	HB25-1241-2- (f) Air pollution emissions travel from a polluter's private property1
64	64	into the air of other private property owners and into public spaces;2
65	65	(g) People have a right to know what pollutants and discharges are3
66	66	emitted into the air they breathe and onto the property they own;4
67	67	(h) Pollution records are now kept in easily accessible electronic5
68	68	and digital formats that were unknown when congress enacted the "Clean6
69	69	Air Act";7
70	70	(i) The cost of electronic database storage for records is nominal,8
71	71	ranging from one cent to 20 cents per gigabyte; and9
72	72	(j) It is in the public interest and supports the health and welfare10
73	73	of Colorado residents to require that pollution records be both available11
74	74	to the state for inspection and accessible to the public.12
75	75	SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 25-7-109.7 as13
76	76	follows:14
77	77	25-7-109.7. Emissions records - public accessibility - rules.15
78	78	(1) Rules. T
79	79	HE COMMISSION SHALL ADOPT RULES THAT ARE NECESSARY16
80	80	TO IMPLEMENT THIS SECTION.17
81	81	(2) Record-keeping. A
82	82	N OWNER OR OPERATOR SHALL MAINTAIN18
83	83	RECORDS OF:19
84	84	(a) I
85	85	NFORMATION ON THE NATURE AND AMOUNT OF EMISSIONS20
86	86	RELEASED FROM THE OWNER OR OPERATOR 'S STATIONARY SOURCE; AND21
87	87	(b) O
88	88	THER INFORMATION THAT THE COMMISSION DETERMINES IS22
89	89	NECESSARY TO ENABLE THE PUBLIC TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE23
90	90	STATIONARY SOURCE IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE EMISSION24
91	91	CONTROL REGULATIONS ADOPTED BY THE COMMISSION PURSUANT TO25
92	92	SECTION 25-7-109.26
93	93	(3) Public accessibility of records. (a) A
94	94	N OWNER OR OPERATOR27
95	95	HB25-1241
96	96	-3- SHALL MAKE THE RECORDS DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (2) OF THIS SECTION1
97	97	PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A LINK ON THE OWNER2
98	98	OR OPERATOR'S PUBLIC WEBSITE. THE OWNER OR OPERATOR SHALL3
99	99	MAINTAIN THE RECORDS IN A DIGITAL FORMAT THAT IS DOWNLOADABLE .4
100	100	(b) A
101	101	N OWNER OR OPERATOR SHALL UPDATE THE RECORDS5
102	102	MAINTAINED ON THE OWNER OR OPERATOR 'S PUBLIC WEBSITE PURSUANT6
103	103	TO SUBSECTION (3)(a) OF THIS SECTION ON A MONTHLY BASIS.7
104	104	(c) T
105	105	HE RECORDS MAY BE REDACTED TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL8
106	106	BUSINESS INFORMATION.9
107	107	(d) T
108	108	HE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT10
109	109	SHALL INCLUDE A LINK ON ITS WEBSITE THAT DIRECTS A MEMBER OF THE11
110	110	PUBLIC TO THE PUBLIC WEBSITE OF AN OWNER OR OPERATOR WHERE THE12
111	111	RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE.13
112	112	SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 25-7-122, amend14
113	113	(1)(b) introductory portion as follows:15
114	114	25-7-122. Civil penalties - rules - definitions. (1) Upon16
115	115	application of the division, the division may collect penalties as17
116	116	determined under this article 7 by instituting an action in the district court18
117	117	for the district in which the air pollution source affected is located, in19
118	118	accordance with the following provisions:20
119	119	(b) Any person who violates any requirement or prohibition of a21
120	120	final order of the division or commission, an applicable emission control22
121	121	regulation of the commission, the state implementation plan, a23
122	122	construction permit, any provision for the prevention of significant24
123	123	deterioration under part 2 of this article 7, any provision related to25
124	124	attainment under part 3 of this article 7, or any provision of or26
125	125	commission rule adopted pursuant to section 25-7-105, 25-7-106,27
126	126	HB25-1241
127	127	-4- 25-7-106.3, 25-7-108, 25-7-109, 25-7-109.5, 25-7-109.7, 25-7-111,1
128	128	25-7-112, 25-7-113, 25-7-114.2, 25-7-114.5, 25-7-118, 25-7-141,2
129	129	25-7-146, 25-7-206, 25-7-403, 25-7-404, 25-7-405, 25-7-407, 42-4-403,3
130	130	42-4-404, 42-4-405, 42-4-406, 42-4-407, 42-4-409, 42-4-410, or4
131	131	42-4-414 is subject to a civil penalty of not more than forty-seven5
132	132	thousand three hundred fifty-seven dollars per day for each day of the6
133	133	violation; except that:7
134	134	SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act8
135	135	takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the9
136	136	ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except10
137	137	that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V11
138	138	of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this12
139	139	act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take13
140	140	effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in14
141	141	November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the15
142	142	official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.16
143	143	HB25-1241
144	144	-5-