SB 25-052
Fiscal Note
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
SB 25-052: RAILROAD INVESTIGATIVE REPORT CONFIDENTIALITY
Prime Sponsors:
Sen. Winter F.; Hinrichsen
Rep. Valdez; Lindsay
Published for: Senate Transportation & Energy
Drafting number: LLS 25-0234
Fiscal Analyst:
Colin Gaiser, 303-866-2677
colin.gaiser@coleg.gov
Version: Initial Fiscal Note
Date: January 24, 2025
Fiscal note status: The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill, which was recommended by the
Transportation Legislation Review Committee.
Summary Information
Overview. The bill repeals the confidentiality requirement for investigative reports of railroads, with
exceptions for certain ongoing investigations and security information.
Types of impacts. The bill is projected to affect the following areas on an ongoing basis:
Minimal State Workload
Appropriations. No appropriation is required.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts
Type of Impact
Budget Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
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 24, 2025 SB 25-052
Summary of Legislation
The bill repeals the requirement that investigative reports of railroads made for the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) be kept
confidential, and gives the PUC authority to create rules making certain ongoing investigations
and security information confidential. These rules cannot make final reports of investigations
confidential and must require timely release of information for the protection of public safety.
State Expenditures
The bill increases workload for the PUC staff to develop new rules on investigative reports of
railroads to comply with the bill’s requirements and respond to a potential increase in Colorado
Open Records Act requests. In addition, the PUC requires legal services from the Department of
Law to review up to 30 investigative reports annually for personally identifiable information and
security sensitive information. This increase in workload and legal services can be accomplished
within existing appropriations.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his
signature.
State and Local Government Contacts
Regulatory Agencies
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.