Committee updates 1905 irrigation district thresholds, sets five‑year inflation adjustments

The House Agriculture Committee unanimously voted to send Senate Bill 140 (referred to in committee as SB25140) to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. Representative Johnson, the bill sponsor, said the measure updates dollar thresholds in the Colorado statutes that govern irrigation districts organized under the 1905 act and establishes a recurring inflation adjustment to avoid repeated statutory fixes.

Don Chapman, a witness representing the Riverside Irrigation District, the Hill Rose Irrigation District and the Water Rights Association of the South Platte, told the committee the change responds to long gaps in prior statutory updates. “These statute values were last adjusted in 2005. This is not an increase in dollar values compared to today; it restores the intent of the thresholds and adds a mechanism so we don’t fall behind again,” Chapman said in testimony.

Committee members heard that the change affects a small number of remaining 1905 irrigation districts (witness estimated about 12). The updated thresholds reduce the frequency with which routine infrastructure purchases or repair contracts trigger special landowner notification and approval steps that were calibrated to much smaller dollar levels two decades ago. Chapman said boards commonly meet monthly and that current thresholds can be unintentionally triggered by purchases such as a dozer or canal rehabilitation because of inflation.

Representative Johnson moved SB 140 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the clerk recorded an 11‑0 vote in favor. Committee members praised the measure as a routine technical fix that will reduce administrative burden and asked about implementation details; witness testimony established that the recurring adjustment will occur every five years beginning July 2029.

Action: SB 140 advanced to Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation, vote 11‑0.