2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 43 - TRANSPORTATION (§§ 43-1-101 — 43-10-119) › FINANCING (§§ 43-4-101 — 43-4-1507) › Article 4 - FINANCING (§§ 43-4-101 — 43-4-1507) › Part 12 - CLEAN TRANSIT (§§ 43-4-1201 — 43-4-1204) › Section 43-4-1203 - Clean transit enterprise - creation - board - powers and duties - rules - fees - fund

(1)
(a)
The clean transit enterprise is created in the department. The enterprise is and operates as a government-owned business within the department in order to execute its business purposes as specified in subsection (3)(a) of this section by exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions set forth in this section.
(b)
The enterprise is a
type 1
entity, as defined in section
24-1-105
, and exercises its powers and performs its duties and functions under the department.
(2)
(a)
The governing board of the enterprise consists of nine members appointed as follows:
(I)
The governor shall appoint six members with the advice and consent of the senate for terms of the length specified in subsection (2)(b) of this section. The governor shall make reasonable efforts, to the extent such applications have been submitted for consideration for the board, to consider members that reflect the state's geographic diversity when making appointments and shall make initial appointments no later than October 1, 2021. Of the members appointed by the governor:
(A)
One member must be a member of the commission and have statewide transportation expertise;
(B)
One member must represent an urban area and have transit expertise;
(C)
One member must represent a rural area and have transit expertise;
(D)
One member must have expertise in zero-emissions transportation, motor vehicle fleets, or utilities;
(E)
One member must represent a transportation-focused organization that serves an environmental justice community; and
(F)
One member must represent a public advocacy group that has transit or comprehensive transportation expertise.
(II)
The executive director of the department of transportation or the executive director's designee;
(III)
The director of the Colorado energy office or the director's designee; and
(IV)
The executive director of the department of public health and environment or the executive director's designee.
(b)
Members of the board appointed by the governor serve for terms of four years; except that three of the members initially appointed shall serve for initial terms of three years and the term of the member appointed pursuant to subsection (2)(a)(I)(A) of this section continues for as long as the member is a member of the commission. A member who is appointed to fill a vacancy on the board shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term of the former member. The other board members serve for as long as they hold their positions or are designated to serve.
(c)
Members of the board serve without compensation but must be reimbursed from money in the fund for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this part 12.
(3)
(a)
The primary business purposes of the enterprise are to:
(I)
Reduce and mitigate the adverse environmental and health impacts of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions produced by motor vehicles used to make retail deliveries by supporting the replacement of existing gasoline and diesel transit vehicles with electric motor vehicles, including motor vehicles that originally were powered exclusively by internal combustion engines but have been converted into electric motor vehicles; providing the associated charging infrastructure for electric transit fleet motor vehicles; supporting facility modifications that allow for the safe operation and maintenance of electric transit motor vehicles; and funding planning studies that enable transit agencies to plan for transit vehicle electrification; and
(II)
Reduce and mitigate the adverse environmental and health impacts of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions produced by oil and gas development by investing in public transit, including vehicles, infrastructure, equipment, materials, supplies, maintenance, and operations and staffing, to achieve the level of frequent, convenient, and reliable transit that is known to increase ridership by replacing car trips with bus and rail trips and forms of transit known to support denser land use patterns that further reduce pollution due to shorter trip lengths and greater walking and cycling mode share.
(b)
To allow the enterprise to accomplish the business purposes described in subsection (3)(a) of this section and fully exercise its powers and duties through the board, the enterprise may:
(I)
Impose a clean transit retail delivery fee as authorized by subsection (7) of this section;
(II)
Impose the production fee for clean transit as authorized by section 43-4-1204;
(III)
Issue grants and provide loans and rebates as authorized by subsection (8) of this section;
(IV)
Implement the remediation services described in section 43-4-1204; and
(V)
Issue revenue bonds payable from the revenue and other available money of the enterprise.
(4)
The enterprise constitutes an enterprise for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution so long as it retains the authority to issue revenue bonds and receives less than ten percent of its total annual revenue in grants from all Colorado state and local governments combined. So long as it constitutes an enterprise pursuant to this subsection (4), the enterprise is not subject to section 20 of article X of the state constitution.
(5)
(a)
The clean transit enterprise fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund consists of clean transit retail delivery fee revenue credited to the fund pursuant to subsection (7) of this section, any monetary gifts, grants, donations, or other money received by the enterprise, any federal money that may be credited to the fund, and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the enterprise may expend money from the fund to provide grants, pay its reasonable and necessary operating expenses, including repayment of any loan received by the enterprise pursuant to subsection (5)(b) of this section, and otherwise exercise its powers and perform its duties as authorized by this part 3.
(b)
The commission may transfer money from the state highway fund created in section
43-1-219
to the enterprise for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred by the enterprise before it receives fee revenue or revenue bond proceeds, and a transfer for such purpose is made, in accordance with section 18 of article X of the state constitution, for the supervision of the public highways of this state. The enterprise may accept and expend any money so transferred, and, notwithstanding any state fiscal rule or generally accepted accounting principle that could otherwise be interpreted to require a contrary conclusion, such a transfer is a loan from the commission to the enterprise that is required to be repaid and is not a grant for purposes of section 20 (2)(d) of article X of the state constitution or as defined in section
24-77-102 (7)
. All money transferred as a loan to the enterprise shall be credited to the clean transit enterprise initial expenses fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury, and loan liabilities that are recorded in the fund but that are not required to be paid in the current fiscal year shall not be considered when calculating sufficient statutory fund balance for purposes of section
24-75-109
. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the clean transit enterprise initial expenses fund to the fund. The clean transit enterprise initial expenses fund is continuously appropriated to the enterprise for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred by the enterprise before it receives fee revenue or revenue bond proceeds. As the enterprise receives sufficient revenue in excess of expenses, the enterprise shall reimburse the state highway fund for the principal amount of any loan made by the commission plus interest at a rate set by the commission.
(6)
In addition to any other powers and duties specified in this section, the board has the following general powers and duties:
(a)
To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;
(b)
To acquire, hold title to, and dispose of real and personal property;
(c)
To employ and supervise individuals, professional consultants, and contractors as are necessary in its judgment to carry out its business purpose;
(d)
To contract with any public or private entity;
(e)
To seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this part 12. The enterprise shall transmit any money received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the fund.
(f)
To directly provide any service that it is authorized to provide indirectly through grants awarded pursuant to subsection (8) of this section;
(g)
To promulgate rules to set the amount of the clean transit retail delivery fee at or below the maximum amount authorized in this section and to govern the process by which the enterprise accepts applications for, awards, and oversees grants, loans, and rebates pursuant to subsection (8) of this section; and
(h)
To have and exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers and duties granted by this section.
(7)
(a)
In furtherance of its business purpose, beginning in state fiscal year 2022-23, the enterprise shall impose, and the department of revenue shall collect on behalf of the enterprise, a clean transit retail delivery fee on each retail delivery. Each retailer who makes a retail delivery shall either collect and remit or elect to pay the clean transit retail delivery fee in the manner prescribed by the department in accordance with section
43-4-218 (6)
. For the purpose of minimizing compliance costs for retailers and administrative costs for the state, the department of revenue shall collect and administer the clean transit retail delivery fee on behalf of the enterprise in the same manner in which it collects and administers the retail delivery fee imposed by section
43-4-218 (3)
.
(b)
For retail deliveries of tangible personal property purchased during state fiscal year 2022-23, the enterprise shall impose the clean transit retail delivery fee in a maximum amount of three cents.
(c)
(I)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7)(c)(II) of this section, for retail deliveries of tangible personal property purchased during state fiscal year 2023-24 or during any subsequent state fiscal year, the enterprise shall impose the clean transit retail delivery fee in a maximum amount that is the maximum amount for the prior state fiscal year adjusted for inflation. The enterprise shall notify the department of revenue of the amount of the clean transit retail delivery fee to be collected for retail deliveries of tangible personal property purchased during each state fiscal year no later than March 15 of the calendar year in which the state fiscal year begins, and the department of revenue shall publish the amount no later than April15 of the calendar year in which the state fiscal year begins.
(II)
The enterprise is authorized to adjust the amount of the clean transit retail delivery fee for retail deliveries of tangible personal property purchased during a state fiscal year only if the department of revenue adjusts the amount of the retail delivery fee imposed by section
43-4-218 (3)
for retail deliveries of tangible personal property purchased during the state fiscal year.
(8)
(a)
In furtherance of its business purpose, and subject to the requirements set forth in this subsection (8), the enterprise is authorized to make grants, loans, or rebates to support electrification of public transit.
(b)
The enterprise may make grants, loans, or rebates to fund:
(I)
Clean transit planning efforts;
(II)
Facility upgrades necessary for the safe operation and maintenance of electric motor vehicles used by public transit providers;
(III)
The construction of electric motor vehicle charging infrastructure used by public transit providers; and
(IV)
The replacement of motor vehicles used by public transit providers that are not electric motor vehicles by electric motor vehicles, or, if electric motor vehicles are not practically available, by compressed natural gas motor vehicles, as defined in section
25-7.5-102 (5)
, if at least ninety percent of the fuel for the compressed natural gas motor vehicles will be recovered methane, as defined in section
25-7.5-102 (20)
.
(c)
The enterprise shall award grants on a competitive basis based on written criteria established by the enterprise in advance of any deadlines for the submission of grant applications.
(9)
The enterprise shall contract with the air pollution control division of the department of public health and environment to develop proposed rules for the consideration of the air quality control commission that will support the enterprise's business services, including remediation services, in a manner that maintains compliance with the federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations governing air quality. The division shall collaborate with the Colorado energy office and the department when developing the rules.
(10)
(a)
To ensure transparency and accountability, the enterprise shall:
(I)
No later than June 1, 2022, publish and post on its website a ten-year plan that details how the enterprise will execute its business purpose during state fiscal years 2022-23 through 2031-32 and estimates the amount of funding needed to implement the plan. No later than January 1, 2032, the enterprise shall publish and post on its website a new ten-year plan for state fiscal years 2032-33 through 2041-42.
(II)
Create, maintain, and regularly update on its website a public accountability dashboard that provides, at a minimum, accessible and transparent summary information regarding the implementation of its ten-year plan, the funding status and progress toward completion of each project that it wholly or partly funds, and its per project and total funding and expenditures;
(III)
Engage regularly regarding its projects and activities with the public, specifically reaching out to and seeking input from communities, including but not limited to disproportionately impacted communities, and interest groups that are likely to be interested in the projects and activities; and
(IV)
Prepare an annual report regarding its activities and funding and present the report to the transportation commission created in section
43-1-106 (1)
and to the transportation and local government and energy and environment committees of the house of representatives and the transportation and energy committee of the senate, or any successor committees. The enterprise shall also post the annual report on its website. Notwithstanding the requirement in section
24-1-136 (11)(a)(I)
, the requirement to submit the report required in this subsection (10)(a)(IV) to the specified legislative committees continues indefinitely.
(b)
The enterprise is subject to the open meetings provisions of the "Colorado Sunshine Act of 1972", contained in part 4 of article
6
of title
24
, and the "Colorado Open Records Act", part 2 of article
72
of title
24
.
(c)
For purposes of the "Colorado Open Records Act", part 2 of article
72
of title
24
, and except as may otherwise be provided by federal law or regulation or state law, the records of the enterprise are public records, as defined in section
24-72-202 (6)
, regardless of whether the enterprise receives less than ten percent of its total annual revenue in grants, as defined in section
24-77-102 (7)
, from all Colorado state and local governments combined.
(d)
The enterprise is a public entity for purposes of part 2 of article
57
of title
11
.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 184,§ 3, eff. 5/16/2024.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 153,§ 10, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 469, §225, eff. 8/10/2022.
Added by 2021 Ch. 250, §52, eff. 6/17/2021.
L. 2021: Entire part added, (SB 21-260), ch. 1456, p. 1456, § 52, effective June 17.
2022 Ch. 469, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).