2006 Session - Colorado Legislative Update
by Laurie Batchelder Adams

Summer 2006

Three solid waste related bills were tracked this session. The first two bills (below) were largely moved forward by the Colorado Association of Recycling (CAFR).

PASSED: HB06-1074 extends the waste-tire fee program that funds the cleanup of illegal tire piles, supports processors in recycling and reusing waste tires, and gives rebates to municipalities for purchasing products made from recycled tires. This means that a portion of the fee, approximately $0.25 per dollar of the $1.00 fee charged for each tire disposed, will now be used to fund “research, development, and technology transfer with regard to waste diversion and recycling strategies or environmental alternatives by providing research funding and technology transfer capital to individuals or public or private entities seeking to develop or implement waste diversion or recycling projects for materials or products of any kind, including strategies pertaining to waste tires, or environmental, research, development, and technology transfer programs in the state for materials and products of any kind.” It is expected that the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, which administers this fund, will create a task force or committee to develop criteria for these grant monies that are appropriate for Colorado’s economy and level of recycling. CAFR expects to have representation on this committee.
VETOED: HB06-1095 was introduced by the Legislative Interim Committee on Government Procurement regarding the ‘Purchase Of Environmentally Preferable Products By State Agencies’. Passed by both the House and the Senate, the governor vetoed the bill and issued this statement: “There does not currently exist a uniform standard for making an ‘environmentally preferable’ determination of most products and services. Although many vendors may promote themselves as meeting environmentally friendly standards, there is no formal government-approved process for validating such a claim.”
DEFEATED: HB06-1303, regarding the ‘Transfer Of Monies For County Environmental Cleanup’, was watched with great interest. It was a somewhat controversial bill because the bill took money that was designated for Superfund remediation sites in the state (and that would need the money in less than 10 years) and give it to counties for hazardous waste-related programs. The bill lost on Second Reading in the House on April 24.

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