Committee backs plan to fund crash‑prevention projects with small auto‑insurance fee

House Bill 13‑03, sponsored by Representatives Basenacker and Lukens, would create a crash prevention enterprise within the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and fund it with a small, itemized per‑policy fee on automobile insurance to pay for transportation safety projects.

The bill would dedicate 80% of enterprise funds to projects that reduce collisions with vulnerable road users — pedestrians, cyclists and other non‑motorized travelers — and 20% to wildlife crossing projects to reduce vehicle‑wildlife collisions on state highways. The measure implements a grant program to distribute funds to eligible entities, including local governments and tribal governments, and sets a fee schedule to fund the enterprise.

Under testimony, sponsors said the fee would start at $1.75 per policy beginning January 1, 2026, run through the fiscal year, and then increase to $3.50 per policy on July 1, 2026; thereafter the fee could be adjusted once annually for inflation. Representative Basenacker said the fee was calculated to avoid surpassing a projected $100 million revenue threshold in the enterprise’s first five years to maintain TABOR compliance.

Supporters from insurers, safety groups, local governments and conservation organizations urged passage. Skyler McKinley of AAA said the investment is “a good bargain,” noting increases in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and the high annual cost of animal collisions to insurers. Anita Saiz of Colorado Communities for Climate Action said the fee would create new revenue for safety projects at a time when statewide transportation funding has been reduced.

Wildlife and rural witnesses described hot spots where collisions are common and testified that crossings and fencing have sharply reduced collisions in prior projects. Michael Dax of Wildlands Network and Michelle Cowardin of Colorado Parks and Wildlife described successful projects (for example, State Highway 9 near Kremmling) and urged continued funding; witnesses cited CDOT and CPW monitoring showing substantial reductions in wildlife crashes after crossings were built.

Opponents including the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado and insurance trade groups said the fee places another charge on policyholders, could disproportionately affect rural drivers and risks setting a precedent of funding transportation projects through insurance surcharges rather than traditional transportation revenues. Several associations proposed alternative funding sources or changes to the fee collection mechanism.

Sponsors offered and the committee adopted several technical and policy amendments: exempting motorcycle policies from the fee, adding equestrian trails and paths to eligible projects, adding overpass/underpass language and clarifying references to the policyholder as the fee payer, and removing a $250,000 minimum project floor so smaller projects could be funded. After debate and witness testimony, Representative Basenacker moved the bill, as amended, to the Committee on Finance with a favorable recommendation.

The committee recorded a roll‑call vote to advance the measure; the committee clerk reported the motion passed on the record. (Tally recorded by committee: yes 9, no 4.)

The bill now goes to the Committee on Finance; sponsors and local governments said they are prepared to apply for grants once the enterprise is operational.