DENVER – Another avenue on the route to addressing Colorado’s transportation funding crisis was shut down Tuesday.
Senate Bill 205, which would have used a sale tax increase of .25 of a cent for 20 years to fund a $4 billion bonding measure, was killed by the Senate Transportation Committee on a unanimous vote at the sponsor’s request.
A major concern was the bill’s focus on transit on the Front Range and dedication of significant funding toward its development and deployment.
Of the $4 billion bond, $500 million would have gone toward passenger rail service along the Interstate 25 corridor, with an additional $350 million toward other multimodal infrastructure around the state.
This would have left $3.15 billion to be directed toward the Colorado Department of Transportation’s priority list, which is projected to require $9 billion over the next decade.
Sen. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, said SB 205 was something that his constituents asked him to bring to the table to ease commuting on the Front Range.
But that would have dedicated more funding to those communities, on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars outlined by CDOT for transportation projects.
Kefalas said before the hearing that many stakeholders had withdrawn from discussions on SB 205 to focus on House Bill 1242, which uses a larger tax increase to raise funding for a more comprehensive transportation plan. The HB 1242 plan includes dedicating money to rural communities for improving transportation options.
It also dedicates a portion of its funding to multimodal options through a grant program that matches money paid by local governments.
Including alternative forms of transportation was an important part of any transportation package brought forward, Kefalas said. “It’s important to keep sending the message that multimodal transportation systems are the solution to Colorado’s transportation woes.”
With SB 205 out of contention, there’s more pressure on the passage of HB 1242.
“At this point, all the eggs are in one basket,” Kefalas said. “I hope that folks can work collaboratively as they have tried to, and that we will make sure that it is a comprehensive bill.”
lperkins@durangoherald.com
