[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6319905,"mediaKeyId","2360235-a09020b758b00e76fdafbe3cf6abc2bc","parentId",2360235,"title","Committee approves amendment to let wildfire-detection cameras use local grant program; funding and privacy still unsettled","audioSeconds",2736,"startMs",1837000,"endMs",4573000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2360235-a09020b758b00e76fdafbe3cf6abc2bc&start=1837&end=4573","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2360235-a09020b758b00e76fdafbe3cf6abc2bc/thumbnail_1837000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6319905/Colorado/Committee-approves-amendment-to-let-wildfire-detection-cameras-use-local-grant-program-funding-and-privacy-still-unsettled","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6319905-d116ac4cb100f8c78edbad086aae72a5/orig.mp4?Expires=1773766108&Signature=I2z76rGGxieNeG12Uvv~647qT2kNbFd~deWpvmZblhYQtHguZCwELZ4BIi-tw~wCIDt0OmuUQawpUeWL5Ps~6yx8l~TK5-ER3CGnL1WWp-5Qzt43butvEV7bnTGPrnirWrPQTJyr4shiaBHo2MgSpA11qEanw90Exng0CPIEao0ac~2sFBjAGOgHixdhq~wYIs3DbEAFduAtlHX7v0nKxxH2h0BS~UTQTPGDPeVaxiqLDly9QhxpCA2A5gf~0RuRlTi8sErssiERnv7cKUmP-QrhQI27l9NPPXK-Pl8VRE5o4ukmYR2CnU1YfBo93D4p~rFRu5OkFe492VMZcoaZ6w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Colorado Legislature","date","2025-02-19T00:00:00Z","article","Sponsors of Senate Bill 11 told the Transportation & Energy Committee the bill aims to expand early wildfire detection with artificial-intelligence-enabled camera stations and to identify funding that would not rely on the general fund. The committee approved a strike-below amendment (L001) that would modify a U.S. Forest Service local government wildfire mitigation grant program established in 2022 to allow detection components and relax a local match requirement; the amendment passed with no recorded objection.

Fire chiefs, professional firefighters and local officials told the committee the cameras have helped detect fires earlier and inform resource deployments. Rick Ballantyne, fire chief in Aspen, described a pilot funded initially by a private donor and said the technology \"has drastically changed the way we do business\" by allowing fire managers to validate smoke reports, reduce unnecessary field investigations and deliver accurate coordinates to aircraft and responding crews. Telluride Fire Protection District Chief John Bennett said his district detected two fires before 911 calls and that cameras provided situational awareness to coordinate state and federal resources.

Jimmy Allen, representing the Colorado Professional Firefighters, urged support for the measure on safety grounds: \"Anytime we can get a jump on a fire, we consider that a win,\" he told the committee. Witnesses said cameras can reduce risk to firefighters and speed suppression decisions.

Sponsors described the amendment as a strike-below that removes an earlier public-private partnership requirement and instead makes detection an allowable expense under the local government wildfire mitigation grant program (established 2022). Megan Davison, appearing for questions, said the amendment does not itself provide direct state funding; it would create statutory authority so dollars could be used if and when they become available. \"This bill would not provide any direct funding for detection components,\" she told the committee; \"it would establish within statute the ability if dollars were to become available for the state to deploy those in areas that need them.\"

Several witnesses and stakeholders asked the committee for clearer privacy and procurement guardrails. Jesse Zamora of the Colorado Association of Realtors said his organization was in an amend position over privacy and recommended local notice and pixelation or blackout of private dwellings in imagery. Jeffco Commissioner Leslie Dahlkemper, speaking for Counties and Commissioners Acting Together (CCAT), said CCAT supported the bill\u0000s goal and the amendment's funding language improvements but asked for additional protections: transparent disclosure about who receives camera data and storage locations, safeguards against diverting mitigation funds, and explicit inclusion of sheriff and emergency-management offices in jurisdictions where they are the primary first responders.

An opponent, Mike Rolick, raised privacy and national-security questions about third-party providers that operate camera networks and quoted a company executive describing a comparison to military surveillance. Committee members pressed sponsors on procurement options and whether an adequate vendor pool exists; Megan Davison said the Division of Fire Prevention and Control maintains a list of potential vendors and at least three to four companies have provided or marketed such systems.

Senator Simpson moved amendment L001, which the committee adopted. Chairwoman Winter then laid the bill over for action only to the following Monday to allow continued work on funding, privacy and procurement details. Senators and witnesses said they would continue discussions on precise funding sources, contract language and privacy protections before final action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Transportation & Energy [Feb 19, 2025]","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 11 had a strike-below amendment approved to make AI-enabled camera detection systems an allowable use under a 2022 local government wildfire mitigation grant program; witnesses praised early detection while counties, realtors and privacy advocates pressed for clearer funding, data and privacy protections.","taxTitle","Transportation & Energy, Standing Committees, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Colorado","taxId",43560,"location","Colorado","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6319906,"Senate committee advances exemption for very small towns from 2021 energy code",252,1582000,1834000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2360235-a09020b758b00e76fdafbe3cf6abc2bc&start=1582&end=1834","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2360235-a09020b758b00e76fdafbe3cf6abc2bc/thumbnail_1582000.jpg","/articles/6319906/Colorado/Senate-committee-advances-exemption-for-very-small-towns-from-2021-energy-code","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6319906-f41cd072dede8314b73c051f6009acea/orig.mp4?Expires=1773766108&Signature=jpmbDN0wIKTSifiJjxfOy4LuQhSMcCYfwfA6JlvO3MJ2pnoQz71gBI9uvdnT-RlDqwfDub5sVsucVd4AspwTEkDkYGkAjgZxxEr7JomiyajZXixU4YAKIFZD-Q0Uxnb4lWX11bQvqKI9DCmYYdbpoYl1lhnFF4dBAHrep~kHv0jksjyCatVu7SQgZt8~QHnIz1SRvizYbnw0CUSfvZW2DfbBa-iZHv4MNdZt6-GTbuFJvH22xh~HKVs-5X2QeMIj5cLw0lhYjVY6bC~s6lA4CcZlN6ZtLY3pPmkzjTzNPDDAzboDs-9jhzhwQy9zSjxRl-QSjmb5ZqBRimukxKRuLQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 141, which would exempt municipalities with fewer than 2,500 residents from the state requirement to adopt the residential provisions of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, moved out of the Transportation & Energy Committee on a 5-4 vote and now heads to the committee of the whole.

Supporters said the measure would reduce construction costs and help very small communities produce homes. Opponents said the change would lower building durability and could limit mortgage and grant financing tied to the latest energy code.

Senator Sarah Pelton, the bill sponsor, told the committee the proposal grew out of conversations with an economic-development group in a frontier community that builds homes for local workers. Pelton said the sponsor narrowed the measure to municipalities to simplify the bill and encouraged committee members to ask questions of witnesses.

Amy Johnson, executive director of Kate Carson Rural Development (KCRD), testified in support. \"KCRD...has leveraged over 4 and a half million dollars to build 19 affordable homes in our small community of 250 people,\" Johnson said. She told senators Kit Carson has no building code and limited administrative capacity and said the state\u0000s adoption of the 2021 IECC has added mandatory requirements that, in her account, raise costs and pose enforcement burdens. \"We are in no way opposed to building energy efficient homes. It's just that we can't afford the extra costs and mandatory compliances that energy codes place on building new homes,\" she said. Johnson also said a recent EPA study found only one registered electric vehicle in her county and that five modular homes they installed came with heat pumps that failed during a cold snap, forcing the developer to waive rent for two months while repairs were sought.

Former state representative Joe McCloskey, representing Bridge Consulting and Southeast Colorado Enterprise Development, also supported the bill. He described frontier conditions where local contractors, inspectors and trade partners are scarce and said meeting 2023-code-based grant requirements can be a practical hurdle for very small towns.

Christine Brinker, senior buildings policy manager at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, testified in opposition. She said the state\u0000s minimum energy code law included grants, free technical assistance and a delayed requirement for jurisdictions that lacked building codes, and she warned that weakening the code would exacerbate higher energy costs in rural areas. \"The energy code...is the bare minimum for safety, for durability, for comfort, for affordability,\" Brinker said.

Committee discussion ranged from requests that rural applicants use Colorado Energy Office grant and training resources to concerns that service and maintenance for some technologies (for example, heat pumps) are rare in frontier counties. Senator Cutter said he remained unconvinced that carving out an exemption was the right approach and described available resources and training; other senators described the policy as one way to help struggling eastern plains and frontier towns.

A motion by Senator Simpson to move the bill to the committee of the whole with a favorable recommendation passed 5 to 4. The roll call produced a 5-4 tally; senators recorded a majority in favor. The bill will next be considered in the committee of the whole.

The committee record contains testimony and questions documenting competing policy concerns: supporters emphasized immediate construction cost relief and local capacity limits; opponents highlighted safety, durability, long-term affordability and the potential loss of federal mortgage eligibility where the 2021 IECC is required. No amendments from the sponsor were offered in committee and no final changes to the bill text were recorded at this hearing.","The Transportation & Energy Committee voted 5-4 to send Senate Bill 141 to the committee of the whole after testimony from rural housing advocates who said the 2021 IECC increases construction costs and from energy policy experts who warned about safety, financing and enforcement problems.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee approves amendment to let wildfire-detection cameras use local grant program; funding and privacy still unsettled

Senate committee advances exemption for very small towns from 2021 energy code