| Summary |
Section 1 of the bill creates the keep Colorado wild pass (wild
pass) for entry into state parks and other participating public lands.
Commencing no earlier than January 1, 2023, but no later than January 1,
2024, each resident with one of the following motor vehicles that is not
a commercial vehicle is assessed a fee for the wild pass (wild pass fee)
when registering the motor vehicle:
•
A passenger motor vehicle;
•
A light-weight truck with an empty vehicle weight of less
than or equal to 16,000 pounds;
•
A motorcycle; or
•
A recreational vehicle.
A resident may decline to pay the wild pass fee when registering
the resident's motor vehicle, and nonpayment of the wild pass fee does
not affect the resident's ability to register the motor vehicle.
The parks and wildlife commission in the department of natural
resources (commission) is required to adopt rules to set the wild pass fee
and, for income-eligible households, a reduced wild pass fee and may
establish a process for applying existing discounts or free entry to persons
eligible for the discount or free entry to the wild pass. The commission
may also adopt rules establishing a separate fee for a pass, including a
separate fee for passes for nonresidents, residents who decline to pay the
wild pass fee when registering the resident's motor vehicle, and residents
who do not possess one of the motor vehicles listed above.
For each state fiscal year, the division of parks and wildlife in the
department of natural resources (division) will use the wild pass fees
collected to achieve stated goals such as providing affordable access to
state parks and public lands; managing state parks; supporting search and
rescue and avalanche safety efforts; conserving vulnerable species and
habitats; funding equity, diversity, and inclusion programs; and financing
regional outdoor partnerships for community-driven planning and
projects.
The division is required to:
•
Develop language to notify motor vehicle registrants of
their option to decline to pay the wild pass fee, which
notice must be conspicuously placed on registration
documents and on the division's and the division of motor
vehicle's websites; and
•
Implement a public outreach campaign to educate the
public about the availability of the wild pass through the
motor vehicle registration process and about access to state
parks and public lands that the wild pass will provide.
Section 2 requires, on or before March 1, 2025, and on or before
March 1, 2030, the division to make a presentation regarding its most
recent annual written report on the number of wild passes sold in the
previous 12 months, an accounting of the expenditures made with the
increased revenue generated from sales of the wild pass, and a summary
of the effect that those increased expenditures have had on the
achievement of the stated goals to a joint session of the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over agriculture matters. The division is
required to send the annual reports to the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over natural resources and to make the reports available to the
public.
Section 3 repeals limitations on the amount that the commission
may increase fees for daily and annual park passes purchased by
individuals who do not purchase the discounted wild pass.
Section 4 authorizes the division to enter into cooperative
agreements with other land management agencies and requires the
division to develop a program for seeking, accepting, and expending gifts,
grants, or donations.
Section 5 establishes that a person's decision to decline to pay for
the wild pass fee does not affect the person's ability to register a motor
vehicle.
Sections 6 through 8 make technical changes.
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