6 Colo. Code Regs. § 1018-1-2.1
Basis and Purpose
Senate Bill 21-260 (SB21-260) Sustainability of the Transportation System created new sources of dedicated funding and new state enterprises. The intent of the legislation was to preserve, improve and expand existing transportation infrastructure, develop the modernized infrastructure needed to support the widespread adoption of electric motor vehicles, and mitigate environmental and health impacts of the transportation system use.
To accomplish these goals, the legislation established a Clean Fleet Enterprise (CFE) governed by a nine (9) member board. The CFE is an enterprise and government owned business within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) for the purpose of collecting fee revenue and using the fees to incentivize support and accelerate the adoption of electric motor vehicles in motor vehicle fleets as well as other specified activities. The CFE is a Type 1 transfer agency and as such the Legislature specifically vested the CFE with the authority to promulgate rules for the sole purpose of setting the amounts of fees called for in the legislation in addition to other activities. The fees the enterprise is required to impose include the clean fleet per ride fee and the clean fleet retail delivery fee. Per statute, for the clean fleet per ride fee, the board can set a maximum fee of $0.0375 cents for any prearranged ride in a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) and $0.075 cents per prearranged ride in a non-ZEV vehicle. The maximum fee that the board can set for the clean fleet retail delivery fee is $0.053 cents. The fees delineated in the rule mirror the fee amounts set in statute.
The CFE shall notify the Department of Revenue (DOR) of the amount of the clean fleet per ride fee to be collected for rides requested and accepted during each state fiscal year no later than March 15 of the calendar year in which the state fiscal year begins. The CFE shall also notify DOR of the amount of the clean fleet 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.
Stakeholder engagement began in December 2021 and continued up to the date of the rulemaking hearing, February 24, 2022. The Division met with stakeholders one-on-one and at a public meeting in this timeframe.
Specific Statutory Authority
The Clean Fleet Enterprise is authorized to promulgate rules to set the clean fleet per ride fee and the clean fleet retail delivery fee at or below the amounts delineated in statute, Section 25-7.5-103(6)(h), (7) and (8), C.R.S.
Basis and Purpose
Statute directs "the enterprise to impose the clean fleet per ride fee in a maximum amount that is the applicable maximum amount of the prior state fiscal year adjusted for inflation," Sections 25-7.5-103(7)(c) and (8)(c), C.R.S. The purpose of this rulemaking is to implement the inflationary increase provided in these statutes.
When establishing any inflationary increase, Section 25-7.5-103(7)(c)(ii), C.R.S., predicates the adjustment to the fees on inflation being positive and cumulative inflation from the last adjustment of the fee, when applied to the sum of the current clean fleet per ride fee and the current air pollution mitigation per ride fee and rounded to the nearest whole cent, results in an increase of at least one whole cent in the total amount of the clean fleet per ride fee and the air pollution mitigation per ride fee. The statute also indicates that the amount of cumulative inflation to be applied is the lesser of actual cumulative inflation or five percent.
Inflationary increases to the clean fleet retail delivery fee occur "only if the department of revenue adjusts the amount of the retail delivery fee imposed by Section 43-4-218(3), C.R.S., for retail deliveries of tangible personal property purchased during the state fiscal year," Section 25-7.5-103(8)(c), C.R.S.
When evaluating the inflationary increase, it is anticipated that staff providing services to the Clean Fleet Enterprise will consult with the Department of Revenue to determine the maximum fee amount that may be imposed, and that the Clean Fleet Enterprise board will receive a presentation on any adjustments to the fees prior to notifying the Department of Revenue of the final amounts authorized under rule 1.3.3 and Sections 25-7.5-103(7)(c) and (8)(c), C.R.S. Though statute requires that the fee amounts be posted on the Department of Revenue website by April 15 of each year, it is also expected that the Clean Fleet Enterprise website will include the information or link to the Department of Revenue website as a courtesy.
Specific Statutory Authority
The Clean Fleet Enterprise is authorized to promulgate rules to set the clean fleet per ride fee and the clean fleet retail delivery fee at or below the amounts delineated in statute, Section 25-7.5-103(6)(h), (7) and (8), C.R.S. The inflationary increase adjustment is added to implement Section 25-7.5-103(3), C.R.S. by setting the fees to be imposed.
6 CCR 1018-1-2.1